Pacific Drilling provides global offshore drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry utilizing its fleet of 7 high-specification drillships. Pacific Drilling was founded in 2008 as a pure-play deepwater offshore drilling contractor, differentiating itself by dedication to this challenging and evolving segment of the market. Unlike its peers, the company was built “from scratch,” without acquiring management or operating systems from an existing offshore drilling contractor. Pacific Drilling’s fleet was built to its specifications, with an emphasis on consistency and technology.
In August 2011, Pacific Drilling commenced drilling operations in Nigeria. Since then, the company has drilled wells for major international clients in Nigeria, Brazil and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the challenges of building and staffing its technologically advanced drilling vessels, Pacific Drilling also went through major equity and debt raises during turbulent financial times in order to fund the growth of the fleet. In November 2011, Pacific Drilling completed an initial public offering and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PACD.” Today, Pacific Drilling has nearly 1,000 employees, with offices in Houston, Texas, Brazil, Nigeria and Luxembourg.
Early in its development, Pacific Drilling established its vision to be the industry’s preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor. The company focused on a strategy of prioritizing customer service and delivering industry-leading operational uptime, which naturally includes a commitment to leadership in health, safety, environment, security and quality. The company’s core values support its vision and strategy by informing its approach to fleet management. Pacific Drilling’s proactive asset management strategies result in less operational downtime than the industry has traditionally experienced.
As the offshore drilling market downturn began in 2015, Pacific Drilling also led the industry in its innovative drillship smart-stacking methods. Smart-stacking dramatically reduces the cost to maintain a drillship while ensuring flexibility to quickly return to work as contract opportunities arise. The vision and values also drive a unique company culture. Pacific Drilling leadership recognizes that offshore drilling is fundamentally a service business, and employees are critical to service delivery. Every employee goes through 3 pre-hire interviews which aim to ensure fit with the company’s ethos. In 2016, Pacific Drilling deployed Project Origin, an integrated leadership and technical competency program to provide professional development at all levels of the organization, both onshore and offshore.
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