Revenues

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Revenue From Contract With Customer [Abstract]

Revenues

3. Revenues

ASC Topic 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Our contracts with customers include both long-term and short-term contracts. Services that primarily generate our earned revenue include the operating business segments of contract drilling, pressure pumping and directional drilling, which comprise our reportable segments. We also derive revenues from our other operations, which include our operating business segments of oilfield rentals, equipment servicing, electrical controls and automation, and oil and natural gas working interests. For more information on our business segments, including disaggregated revenue recognized from contracts with customers, see Note 14.

Charges for services are considered a series of distinct services. Since each distinct service in a series would be satisfied over time if it were accounted for separately, and the entity would measure its progress towards satisfaction using the same measure of progress for each distinct service in the series, we are able to account for these integrated services as a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time.

The transaction price is the amount of consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer, based on terms of our contracts with our customers. The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts and/or variable amounts. Payments received for services are considered variable consideration as the time in service will fluctuate as the services are provided. Topic 606 provides an allocation exception, which allows us to allocate variable consideration to one or more distinct services promised in a series of distinct services that form part of a single performance obligation as long as certain criteria are met. These criteria state that the variable payment must relate specifically to the entity’s efforts to satisfy the performance obligation or transfer the distinct good or service, and allocation of the variable consideration is consistent with the standards’ allocation objective. Since payments received for services meet both of these criteria requirements, we recognize revenue when the service is performed.

An estimate of variable consideration should be constrained to the extent that it is not probable that a significant revenue reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. Payments received for other types of consideration are fully constrained as they are highly susceptible to factors outside the entity’s influence and therefore could be subject to a significant revenue reversal once resolved. As such, revenue received for these types of consideration is recognized when the service is performed.

Estimates of variable consideration are subject to change as facts and circumstances evolve. As such, we will evaluate our estimates of variable consideration that are subject to constraints throughout the contract period and revise estimates, if necessary, at the end of each reporting period.

We are a non-operating working interest owner of oil and natural gas properties primarily located in Texas and New Mexico. The ownership terms are outlined in joint operating agreements for each well between the operator of the well and the various interest owners, including us, who are considered non-operators of the well. We receive revenue each period for our working interest in the well during the period. The revenue received for the working interests from these oil and gas properties does not fall under the scope of the new revenue standard, and therefore, will continue to be reported under current guidance ASC 932-323 Extractive Activities – Oil and Gas, Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures.

Reimbursement Revenue — Reimbursements for the purchase of supplies, equipment, personnel services, shipping and other services that are provided at the request of our customers are recorded as revenue when incurred. The related costs are recorded as operating expenses when incurred.

Operating Lease Revenue — Lease income from equipment that we lease to others is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.  

Accounts Receivable and Contract Liabilities

Accounts receivable is our right to consideration once it becomes unconditional. Payment terms typically range from 30 to 60 days.

Accounts receivable balances were $178 million and $158 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. These balances do not include amounts related to our oil and gas working interests as those contracts are excluded from Topic 606. Accounts receivable balances are included in “Accounts receivable” in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

We do not have any significant contract asset balances. Contract liabilities include prepayments received from customers prior to the requested services being completed. Once the services are complete and have been invoiced, the prepayment is applied against the customer’s account to offset the accounts receivable balance. Also included in contract liabilities are payments received from customers for the initial mobilization of newly constructed or upgraded rigs that were moved on location to the initial well site. These mobilization payments are allocated to the overall performance obligation and amortized over the initial term of the contract. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, no such payments were amortized and recorded in drilling revenue.  During the three months ended March 31, 2020, approximately $0.1 million was amortized and recorded in drilling revenue.

Total contract liability balances were $1.1 million and $0.6 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. Contract liability balances are included in “Accounts payable” and “Accrued liabilities” in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Contract Costs

Costs incurred for newly constructed or rig upgrades based on a contract with a customer are considered capital improvements and are capitalized to drilling equipment and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset.

Recognition of Revenue from Performance Obligations Satisfied in a Prior Period

During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we recorded revenue of $2.3 million associated with early termination revenue to which we were contractually entitled from one of our customers. While the performance obligations were satisfied during 2020, we did not record the related revenue due to our doubts about the customer’s ability and intent to pay substantially all of the consideration to which we were entitled in accordance with ASC Topic 606. Those doubts were resolved during the three months ended March 31, 2021, when collectability became probable from the counterparty in connection with its emergence from bankruptcy.