Supported by its new management team, board of directors, shareholders, and debt restructuring, offshore drilling contractor Dolphin Drilling achieved a significant year-over-year increase in total revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) during the first half of 2025.
Dolphin Drilling’s newly appointed CEO Jon Oliver Bryce announced during the earnings call at the end of August: “Our company has transitioned from a loss-making position to profitability, achieving EBITDA of $10.4 million in the first half of the year, compared to a loss of $23.2 million during the same period in 2024.”
Meanwhile, Dolphin Drilling’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Ingolf Gillesdal announced that the company achieved total revenue of $93 million in the first half of 2025, representing a significant increase from the $30 million recorded in the first half of 2024.
Despite this, Dolphin Drilling recorded a net loss of $26.2 million ($0.09 per share) in the second quarter, widening from the $14.1 million loss ($0.06 per share) in the same period of 2024, primarily due to a $19.2 million tax loss. The company reported a loss per share of $0.12 for the first half of the year, compared to a loss of $0.11 per share in the corresponding period of 2024.
Dolphin Drilling has completed its refinancing plan and welcomed a new major long-term investor, Svelland Capital, which holds a 49% stake. The company is pursuing arbitration compensation from Nigeria’s General Hydrocarbons Ltd, which has appealed the ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Dolphin Drilling’s semi-submersible drilling rigs, the Paul B Loyd Junior and the Blackford Dolphin, have both secured long-term fixed-term contracts through the first half of 2025. The Paul B Loyd Junior, which achieved a utilization rate of 98% in the first half of the year, has signed a long-term contract with Harbour Energy in the UK North Sea until 2028. The Blackford Dolphin, which achieved a utilization rate of 86% in the first half of the year, has a charter contract with Indian Oil Corporation until 2026. The Borgland Dolphin is currently hot-berthed at the Port of Las Palmas and is actively seeking a charter.
Jon Oliver Bryce noted that while the global supply of semi-submersible drilling rigs is limited, demand for these platforms is steadily increasing. This demand stems primarily from two major sectors: traditional oil and gas exploration, and the growing number of well plugging and abandonment or decommissioning and dismantling operations. In an increasingly tight market environment, the company has laid a solid foundation for future business development.