Korean Yard to Build Fourth Atwood Ultra-deepwater Drillship

An Atwood Oceanics subsidiary has entered into a turnkey construction contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to construct a fourth ultra-deepwater drillship, to be named 'Atwood Archer'.

The Atwood Archer is expected to be delivered by December31, 2015 at a total cost, including two blowout preventers , project management, drilling and handling tools and spares, of approximately $635-million.  Upon delivery, the new rig will become the seventeenth mobile offshore drilling unit owned by the Company.

The design of the Atwood Archer will be identical to the previously ordered Atwood Advantage, Atwood Achiever and Atwood Admiral  - all four drillships are DP-3 dynamically-positioned, dual derrick ultra-deepwater drillships rated to
operate in water depths up to 12,000 feet and drill to a depth of up to 40,000

This order comprises the execution of the option that was set to expire on June 30, 2013.  In connection with the exercise, the Company has also secured an option to construct a fifth ultra-deepwater drillship at a similar cost to the Atwood Archer and with an expected delivery in September 2016, and which requires exercise  by March 31, 2014.

At this time, the Company says it has made no determination as to whether the option will be exercised.