Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE: ATW) announces that one of its subsidiaries agreed to an extension and rate adjustment to its existing contract with Noble Energy, Inc. for the ultra-deepwater rig, the Atwood Advantage, effective November 9, 2015. The agreement is to extend the contract for the purposes of a plugging and abandoning four well program in the Gulf of Mexico that has an estimated duration of one hundred and twenty (120) days during the contract term and is anticipated to occur in 2016. This extension adjusts the operating day rate to approximately $240,000 per day only during the four plug and abandon wells and makes the new contract expiry date approximately August 2017.
Atwood Oceanics, Inc. also announces that one of its subsidiaries has received a letter confirming that it has been chosen to enter exclusive negotiations with an undisclosed operator to conclude agreement on a drilling program offshore Brazil commencing in the third quarter of 2017. The letter specifies that either the Atwood Admiral or Atwood Archer, ultra-deepwater drillships currently under construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd yard in South Korea, would be contracted to drill the program. The letter specifies a number of contractual items that have been agreed by the parties, including the commercial rates, well count, minimum term length, and rig acceptance criteria.
