Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

10. Commitments and Contingencies

In conjunction with our current drilling rig construction program, purchase commitments for equipment, parts and supplies of approximately $189.7 million are outstanding at March 31, 2014.

Various legal actions, the majority of which arise in the ordinary course of business, are pending.  We maintain insurance against certain business risks subject to certain deductibles.  None of these legal actions are expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

We are contingently liable to sureties in respect of bonds issued by the sureties in connection with certain commitments entered into by us in the normal course of business.  We have agreed to indemnify the sureties for any payments made by them in respect of such bonds.

During the ordinary course of our business, contingencies arise resulting from an existing condition, situation or set of circumstances involving an uncertainty as to the realization of a possible gain contingency.  We account for gain contingencies in accordance with the provisions of ASC 450, Contingencies, and, therefore, we do not record gain contingencies or recognize income until realized.  The property and equipment of our Venezuelan subsidiary was seized by the Venezuelan government on June 30, 2010.  Our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. and Helmerich & Payne de Venezuela, C.A., filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on September 23, 2011 against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PDVSA”) and PDVSA Petroleo, S.A. (“Petroleo”).  Our subsidiaries seek damages for the taking of their Venezuelan drilling business in violation of international law and for breach of contract.  While there exists the possibility of realizing a recovery, we are currently unable to determine the timing or amounts we may receive, if any, or the likelihood of recovery.  No gain contingencies are recognized in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On November 8, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana approved the previously disclosed October 30, 2013 plea agreement between our wholly owned subsidiary, Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co., and the United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana (“DOJ”).  The court’s approval of the plea agreement resolved the DOJ’s investigation into certain choke manifold testing irregularities that occurred in 2010 at one of Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co.’s offshore platform rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.  In November 2013, we paid a $5.4 million monetary penalty and made a $1.0 million organizational community service payment which were included in accrued liabilities on the September 30, 2013 Consolidated Balance Sheet and in operating costs, excluding depreciation in the September 30, 2013 Consolidated Statement of Income.  We are also currently engaged in discussions with the Inspector General’s office of the Department of Interior regarding the same events that were the subject of the DOJ’s investigation.  Although we presently believe that the outcome of our discussions will not have a material adverse effect on the Company, we can provide no assurances as to the timing or eventual outcome of these discussions.