ENI Extends Contract with Ocean Rig
Several of Ocean Rig UDW Inc. subsidiaries have entered into an omnibus agreement with ENI Angola S.p.A pursuant to which ENI has exercised its option to extend the contract for the drillship Ocean Rig Poseidon for a further one year until the second quarter of 2017.
As part of the contract extension for the Ocean Rig Poseidon, Ocean Rig has agreed to adjust the existing dayrate of the Ocean Rig Poseidon contract in exchange for ENI agreeing to enter into two contracts for the employment of one or more of Ocean Rig’s available drillships in West Africa starting in the first quarter of 2015 for an aggregate period of approximately eight months. As a result of this agreement the total contract backlog of Ocean Rig has increased by approximately $187 million.
The agreement remains subject to customary closing conditions including the approval by national authorities which we expect will be obtained before the end of the first quarter of 2015.
George Economou, Ocean Rig’s Chairman and CEO, said,“Assuming the consummation of this agreement, Ocean Rig’s revenue backlog now stands at approximately $5.4 billion which provides us with the necessary flexibility to navigate the more challenging markets in 2015.”
