Severance and Other Charges (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Other Income and Other Expense Disclosure [Text Block]

11.  SEVERANCE AND OTHER CHARGES

In 2015 and throughout 2016, in response to reduced spending by our clients on their oil and gas fields as a result of lower commodity prices for crude oil and natural gas, we reduced our cost structure, primarily through a reduction in our workforce, to better align with the decreasing activity levels into the foreseeable future. As a result of these cost reductions, we recorded severance charges of $8.8 million in 2015, of which $7.1 million was recorded during the nine months ended September 30, 2015. At September 30, 2016, $0.6 million was accrued and remaining to be paid.

During the third quarter of 2016, we continued to closely monitor rig counts, crude oil and natural gas prices, and activity levels within the industry. We continued to execute our cost reduction initiative which began in the first quarter of 2015, but no additional expenses associated with severance or asset impairments were recorded during the three or nine months ended September 30, 2016.