Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG) ("Ocean Rig"or "UDW" or the "Company") an international contractor of offshore deepwater drilling services, has announced that it has signed a new drilling contract with Statoil, for a one-well drilling program offshore Tanzania. The contract is expected to commence in Q1 2018, to be performed by the Ocean Rig Poseidon.
Ocean Rig Poseidon: Photo credit: Ocean Rig
In addition, Lundin Norway AS (“Lundin”) has declared their fifth option to extend the existing contract of the Leiv Eiriksson, which is now expected to have firm employment secured until March 2018. Ocean Rig has granted Lundin two (2) additional options to drill further wells in the future. Should Lundin exercise its remaining seven one-well options, the rig could be employed until the middle of 2019.
As a result, the Company has increased its estimated contract backlog by approximately $20 million.
Mr. George Economou, Chairman and CEO commented:
"We are excited that following the successful completion of our restructuring we have secured additional work for our rigs. Our strong balance sheet has increased our eligibility to participate in tendering activities for our clients and allows us to offer competitive solutions to selectively pursue the opportunities that make the most business sense."
