HOUSTON, Sept. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Offshore plc ("Paragon") (NYSE: PGN) President and Chief Executive Officer Randall D. Stilley spoke recently at the Pareto Securities Oil and Offshore Conference in Oslo, Norway.  In prepared remarks, the accompanying slides for which are available on Paragon's website at www.paragonoffshore.com, Stilley commented on the strength of the business, steady market outlook for the standard specification jackup business, and Paragon's history of delivering safe, reliable, and cost effective services to its customers.

"I am confident in Paragon's position in the standard specification drilling market," Stilley said. "Paragon enjoys a backlog of $2.3 billion as of June 30, 2014, stretching into 2017.  Furthermore, we anticipate announcing new contracts and contract extensions in a variety of regions in the coming months that will extend our backlog and further demonstrate the continued marketability of our rigs."

Stilley also addressed Paragon's capital allocation strategy.  "Management and the board of directors are committed to the long-term strength of Paragon and to increasing shareholder value.  Our board is currently discussing our strategy for capital allocation, including our dividend policy, and the Company anticipates making an announcement regarding this topic by the end of September."

Stilley concluded, "The fundamentals of our business are strong, our operations are proceeding well, and our customers have been very supportive of Paragon's strategy and position in the market.  We look forward to taking advantage of opportunities to grow our business in the coming years."

About Paragon Offshore

Paragon is a pure-play global provider of standard specification offshore drilling rigs.  Paragon's drilling fleet consists solely of standard specification rigs and includes 34 jackups and eight floaters (five drillships and three semisubmersibles). Paragon's primary business is contracting its rigs, related equipment and work crews to conduct oil and gas drilling and workover operations for its exploration and production customers on a dayrate basis around the world. Paragon's principal executive offices are located in Houston, Texas. Paragon is a public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 08814042 and registered office at 20-22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, England. Additional information is available at www.paragonoffshore.com.

Forward-Looking Disclosure Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the outlook for the standard specification drilling market, Paragon's capital allocation strategy, backlog, and contracts, as well as any other statements that are not historical facts in this release, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These include but are not limited to risks associated with the general nature of the oil and gas industry, risks associated with the operation of Paragon as a separate, publicly traded company following the spin-off, actions by regulatory authorities, customers and other third parties, and other factors detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of Paragon's registration statement on Form 10 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 14, 2014, in Paragon's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, and in Paragon's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated.

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SOURCE Paragon Offshore plc