HAMILTON, BERMUDA--(Marketwire - Jul 25, 2012) - Seadrill has received a commitment from
a
major oil company for new contracts on newbuild drillships West Auriga,
West
Vela and a third drilling unit currently in operation, which will be
named
later. The combined 3 rig package involves 19 rig years and a potential
contract
value of US$4 billion, including mobilization fees for the newbuild units.
West Auriga and West Vela are currently under construction at Samsung
Shipyard
in Korea. The newbuild units will commence transits to the Gulf of Mexico
upon
delivery from the yard, scheduled for late February and May 2013.
Start-up of operations are scheduled for September and December 2013.
The West Auriga and
West Vela are the fourth and fifth drillships delivered to Seadrill by
Samsung
in the last 4 years. Each rig will be equipped with 1250 ton load
capacity, an
active heave compensated subsea construction crane and two 7 ram
blow out
preventers.
Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says,
"The
breadth and depth of this commitment from a major oil company is the
result of
our track record of delivering rigs on time, operating with a
competent
workforce and having the availability of a modern fleet. We are excited
about
the opportunity to further grow our fleet and operations in the US
Gulf of
Mexico, which we consider as one of the most cost effective drilling
regions.
In addition, the term of the contracts fits well with Seadrill financing
plans
including the potential use of MLP financing.
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to
section
5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
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Source: Seadrill Limited via Thomson Reuters ONE
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