October 14, 2008 06:06 ET

SDRL - Ultra-deepwater drillship West Polaris commence operations in Brazil

HAMILTON, BERMUDA--(Marketwire - October 14, 2008) -

The ultra-deepwater drillship West Polaris has commenced operations for ExxonMobil in Brazil. West Polaris, which was delivered from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea mid July this year, arrived offshore Brazil end of September and has since arrival been loading onboard relevant equipment as well as preparing for operations. West Polaris has a four-year contract with ExxonMobil for worldwide exploration activities. Seadrill will for the mobilization period receive dayrate as well as compensation for fuel costs, which will be taken to income over the four-year contract term.

Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says "We are exited to have commenced our first deepwater operation in Brazil. This is an important milestone for us as we have three more deepwater newbuilds scheduled for start-up of operations in this area over the next years. Brazil will going forward, be on of our key operational areas."

Analyst contact
Jim Daatland
VP Investor Relations
Seadrill Management AS
+47 51 30 99 19

Media contact
Trond Brandsrud
Chief Financial Officer
Seadrill Management AS
+47 51 30 99 19


Seadrill Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda
October 14, 2008

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