Rowan's Fleet Status Update

Rowan Companies plc informed today that its monthly report of drilling rig status and contract details have been updated as of November 20, 2014. 

Notable events in the current report include:

Rowan Louisiana: As previously indicated, awarded a one-well contract with an estimated minimum duration of 45 days with EnVen in the Gulf of Mexico at $85,000 per day, which commenced in mid-November 2014.

Rowan Resolute: As previously indicated, commenced operations on October 16, 2014 in the US Gulf of Mexico. Increased previously planned 4Q 2014 off rate time by 20 days to a total of 27 days in order to complete certain commissioning tasks.

Rowan Gorilla VI: As previously indicated, commenced operations in early September 2014. Increased off rate time by 19 days to a total of 26 days during 4Q 2014.

Rowan EXL I: Reduced previously scheduled off rate time for inspections by 15 days to a total of 30 days, which is now expected to occur during 4Q 2014/1Q 2015 instead of 4Q 2014.

Rowan EXL II: Added 30 days off rate time for inspections which is expected to occur during 2Q 2015.

Hank Boswell and Bob Keller: Reduced previously scheduled off rate time for repairs and inspections by 10 days to a total of 35 days, which is expected to occur during1Q and 2Q of 2015.

For the fourth quarter and full-year of 2014, the Company continues to expect jack-up out-of-service time to be approximately 7-8% and 10%, respectively.  Except for the out-of-service days specified in the Monthly Fleet Status Report for the Rowan Renaissance and Rowan Resolute, the Company does not currently expect any further drillship out-of-service days in 2014.  To provide more visibility, out-of-service time through 2015 has been included in the Monthly Fleet Status Report.  The Company continues to expect out-of-service time for the full-year of 2015 to be approximately 3-6% for its jack-ups and drillships, subject to fleet repositioning and market conditions.

No operational downtime is included in projected out-of-service days, but the Company estimates jack-up operational downtime to account for approximately 2.5% of in-service days in current and future quarters.  The Company continues to expect drillship operational downtime to be approximately 5% after a break-in period of approximately six months up to one year following which drillship operational downtime may increase.

Out-of-service days include days for which no revenues are recognized other than operational downtime and cold-stacked days.  The Company may be compensated for certain out-of-service days such as shipyard stays or transit periods preceding a contract.  However, any such compensation is deferred and recognized over the period of drilling operations.  Operational downtime is when a rig is under contract and unable to conduct planned operations due to equipment breakdowns or procedural failures. 
 

Unless otherwise indicated, all day rates on the fleet status include estimated amortization of contract mobilization/modification revenues.  However, day rates exclude approximately $20-$30 million of other miscellaneous aggregate annual revenue the Company receives during rig operations (or approximately $5 to $8 million per quarter).  Day rates also exclude rebillable revenues which are equally offset by drilling expenses.

This summary is provided as a courtesy and is not intended to replace a detailed review of the Monthly Fleet Status Report.  While the Company has attempted to include items it believes are significant, we encourage you to review the Monthly Fleet Status Report in detail.

Rowan Companies plc is a global provider of contract drilling services in the ultra-deepwater and shallow water jack-up market with a fleet of 34 offshore drilling units, including four ultra-deepwater drillships, one of which is currently under construction, and 30 jack-up rigs, 19 of which are rated high-specification.  The Company's fleet is located worldwide, including the United Kingdom and Norwegian sectors of the North.