Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Organization [Abstract]
Organization	Note 1 — Organization Effective March 6, 2006, we changed our name from Cal Dive International, Inc. to Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (“Helix” or the “Company”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” “us” and “our” in this Annual Report refer collectively to Helix and its subsidiaries. We are an international offshore energy company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. We primarily conduct operations in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Asia Pacific, and West Africa regions. Until June 2009, Cal Dive International, Inc. (collectively with its subsidiaries referred to as “Cal Dive”) was a majority-owned subsidiary of Helix. We sold substantially all of our then remaining ownership interests in Cal Dive during 2009 (Note 2). In February 2013, we sold Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (“ERT”), a former wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary that conducted our oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Our former Oil and Gas segment was involved in prospect generation, exploration, development and production activities. Our Operations We seek to provide services and methodologies that we believe are critical to developing offshore reservoirs and maximizing production economics. Our “life of field” services are segregated into four disciplines: well intervention, robotics, subsea construction and production facilities. Historically, we reported our operations as two segments: Contracting Services and Production Facilities. With the completion of the sale of our two remaining subsea construction pipelay vessels and the continued emphasis on growing our well intervention and robotics businesses, we have disaggregated our former Contracting Services segment into three business segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Subsea Construction (Note 14). Our Subsea Construction activities are now significantly diminished following the sale of substantially all of our existing assets related to this reportable segment. Our Production Facilities segment includes the majority ownership of the Helix Producer I (the “HP I”) vessel as well as our equity investments in Deepwater Gateway, L.L.C. (“Deepwater Gateway”) and Independence Hub, LLC (“Independence Hub”) (Note 5). It also includes the Helix Fast Response System (the “HFRS”), which includes access to our Q4000 and HP I vessels. In 2011, we signed an agreement with Clean Gulf Associates ("CGA"), a non-profit industry group, allowing, in exchange for a retainer fee, the HFRS to be named as a response resource in permit applications to federal and state agencies and making the HFRS available to certain CGA participants who executed utilization agreements with us. In addition, we entered into separate utilization agreements with CGA members that specified the day rates to be charged should the HFRS be deployed in connection with a well control incident. The original set of agreements expired on March 31, 2013, and we entered into a new set of substantially similar agreements with the operators who formed HWCG LLC, a Delaware limited liability company comprised of some of the original CGA members as well as other industry participants to perform the same functions as CGA with respect to the HFRS. These agreements became effective April 1, 2013, and are for a four-year term. Discontinued Operations In December 2012, we announced a definitive agreement for the sale of ERT. On February 6, 2013, we sold ERT for $624 million plus additional consideration in the form of overriding royalty interests in ERT’s Wang well and certain exploration prospects. As a result, we have presented the assets and liabilities included in the sale of ERT and the historical operating results of our former Oil and Gas segment as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. See Note 3 for additional information regarding our discontinued oil and gas operations and Note 7 regarding the use of a portion of the sale proceeds to reduce our indebtedness under our former credit agreement.

Note 1 — Organization

Effective March 6, 2006, we changed our name from Cal Dive International, Inc. to Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (“Helix” or the “Company”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” “us” and “our” in this Annual Report refer collectively to Helix and its subsidiaries. We are an international offshore energy company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. We primarily conduct operations in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Asia Pacific, and West Africa regions. Until June 2009, Cal Dive International, Inc. (collectively with its subsidiaries referred to as “Cal Dive”) was a majority-owned subsidiary of Helix. We sold substantially all of our then remaining ownership interests in Cal Dive during 2009 (Note 2). In February 2013, we sold Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (“ERT”), a former wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary that conducted our oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Our former Oil and Gas segment was involved in prospect generation, exploration, development and production activities.

Our Operations

We seek to provide services and methodologies that we believe are critical to developing offshore reservoirs and maximizing production economics. Our “life of field” services are segregated into four disciplines: well intervention, robotics, subsea construction and production facilities. Historically, we reported our operations as two segments: Contracting Services and Production Facilities. With the completion of the sale of our two remaining subsea construction pipelay vessels and the continued emphasis on growing our well intervention and robotics businesses, we have disaggregated our former Contracting Services segment into three business segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Subsea Construction (Note 14). Our Subsea Construction activities are now significantly diminished following the sale of substantially all of our existing assets related to this reportable segment. Our Production Facilities segment includes the majority ownership of the Helix Producer I (the “HP I”) vessel as well as our equity investments in Deepwater Gateway, L.L.C. (“Deepwater Gateway”) and Independence Hub, LLC (“Independence Hub”) (Note 5). It also includes the Helix Fast Response System (the “HFRS”), which includes access to our Q4000 and HP I vessels. In 2011, we signed an agreement with Clean Gulf Associates ("CGA"), a non-profit industry group, allowing, in exchange for a retainer fee, the HFRS to be named as a response resource in permit applications to federal and state agencies and making the HFRS available to certain CGA participants who executed utilization agreements with us. In addition, we entered into separate utilization agreements with CGA members that specified the day rates to be charged should the HFRS be deployed in connection with a well control incident. The original set of agreements expired on March 31, 2013, and we entered into a new set of substantially similar agreements with the operators who formed HWCG LLC, a Delaware limited liability company comprised of some of the original CGA members as well as other industry participants to perform the same functions as CGA with respect to the HFRS. These agreements became effective April 1, 2013, and are for a four-year term.

Discontinued Operations

In December 2012, we announced a definitive agreement for the sale of ERT. On February 6, 2013, we sold ERT for $624 million plus additional consideration in the form of overriding royalty interests in ERT’s Wang well and certain exploration prospects. As a result, we have presented the assets and liabilities included in the sale of ERT and the historical operating results of our former Oil and Gas segment as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. See Note 3 for additional information regarding our discontinued oil and gas operations and Note 7 regarding the use of a portion of the sale proceeds to reduce our indebtedness under our former credit agreement.