Taxation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of income taxes

Income taxes consist of the following:

	Successor				Predecessor
(In $ millions)	Year ended December 31, 2019		Period from July 2, 2018 through December 31, 2018		Period from January 1, 2018 through July 1, 2018		Year ended December 31, 2017
Current tax (benefit)/expense:
Bermuda	—		—		—		—
Foreign	22		30		34		56
Deferred tax (benefit)/expense:
Bermuda	—		—		—		—
Foreign	(61	)	(22	)	(4	)	10
Total tax (benefit)/expense	(39	)	8		30		66
Effective tax rate	3.1	%	(1.3	)%	(0.8	)%	(2.2	)%

Schedule of income tax reconciliation

The income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2019 (Successor), the period from July 2, 2018 through December 31, 2018 (Successor), the period from January 1, 2018 through July 1, 2018 (Predecessor) and the year ended December 31, 2017 (Predecessor) differed from the amount computed by applying the Bermudan statutory income tax rate of 0% as follows:

	Successor				Predecessor
(In $ millions)	Year ended December 31, 2019		Period from July 2, 2018 through December 31, 2018		Period from January 1, 2018 through July 1, 2018	Year ended December 31, 2017
Income taxes at statutory rate	—		—		—	—
Effect of change on unrecognized tax benefits	(6	)	49		12	(5	)
Effect of unremitted earnings of subsidiaries	(17	)	(10	)	—	3
Effect of taxable income in various countries	(16	)	(31	)	18	68
Total tax (benefit)/expense	(39	)	8		30	66

Schedule of deferred income taxes

Deferred income taxes reflect the impact of temporary differences between the amount of assets and liabilities recognized for financial reporting purposes and such amounts recognized for tax purposes. The net deferred tax assets/(liabilities) consist of the following:

Deferred tax assets:

	Successor		Successor
(In $ millions)	December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Pensions and stock options	2		4
Provisions	30		28
Net operating losses carried forward	259		263
Gross deferred tax assets	291		295
Valuation allowance	(255	)	(254	)
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	36		41

Deferred tax liabilities:

	Successor		Successor
(In $ millions)	December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Property, plant and equipment	30		49
Unremitted Earnings of Subsidiaries	10		27
Intangibles	4		34
Gross deferred tax liabilities	44		110
Net deferred tax liability	(8	)	(69	)

Schedule of changes in uncertain tax positions

The changes to our balance related to unrecognized tax benefits were as follows:

	Successor				Predecessor
(In $ millions)	Year ended December 31, 2019		Period from July 2, 2018 through December 31, 2018		Period from January 1, 2018 through July 1, 2018		Year ended December 31, 2017
Balance at the beginning of the period	132		61		55		44
Increases as a result of positions taken in prior periods	8		69		7		23
Increases as a result of positions taken during the current period	29		18		1		—
Decreases as a result of positions taken in prior periods	(34	)	(9	)	(2	)	(9	)
Decreases as a result of positions taken in the current period	—		—		—		—
Decreases due to settlements	(46	)	(7	)	—		(3	)
Balance at the end of the period	89		132		61		55

Summary of tax years that remain subject to examination

The following table summarizes the earliest tax years that remain subject to examination by other major taxable jurisdictions in which we operate. 

Jurisdiction	Earliest Open Year
Angola	2015
Nigeria	2014
United States	2016
Norway	2015
Brazil	2008