HOUSTON, March 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Offshore
plc ("Paragon") (NYSE: PGN) announced today that it issued a report
on drilling rig status and contract information as of March 16, 2015. The report, titled "Fleet
Status Report," can be found on the Company's website at
www.paragonoffshore.com, under the "Our Fleet" section of the
website.
In addition, Randall D. Stilley,
Paragon's President and Chief Executive Officer, provided comments
on various aspects of Paragon's business.
"As shown in the most recent Fleet Status Report, Paragon has
added additional backlog through new contracts in the North Sea and
West Africa," said Mr.
Stilley. "We are also involved in positive contract
negotiations in the Middle East,
one of the largest and most active jackup markets in the
world. Year-to-date, Paragon has added $92 million in contract backlog compared to
$32 million added during the
comparable period in 2014."
Mr. Stilley also commented on the status of Paragon's rigs
working in Mexico. "As we reported
during our recent earnings call, Paragon has been in discussions
with our customer, Pemex, regarding the contract status of our
rigs. We continue discussions with respect to Pemex's drilling
plans for 2015 and will update the market when we have more
clarity. In the meantime, a number of rigs continue to work
under 'Well in Progress' provisions in their current
contracts."
In addition, Paragon reported today that it has repaid the
outstanding Prospector Offshore S.A. ("Prospector") term loan, of
which approximately $262 million was
outstanding at the time of payoff, including principal and accrued
costs. The payment was made using the company's current cash
and revolving credit facility. Paragon expects that
Prospector will remain an unrestricted subsidiary as defined in the
company's debt agreements.
"It was not a surprise in the current low oil price environment
that certain members of the Prospector term loan group decided to
exercise their change of control rights," said Mr. Stilley.
"However, as we discussed on our earnings call, we are pursuing
alternate financing for the two Prospector operating rigs that
would allow us to pay down our revolver. In the meantime, our
operations continue to generate cash and our liquidity is
sufficient."
About Paragon Offshore
Paragon is a global provider of offshore drilling rigs.
Paragon's drilling fleet includes 34 jackups, including two high
specification heavy duty/hash environment jackups, and six floaters
(four drillships and two 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 contract status and duration, contract extensions,
backlog, dayrates, Paragon's future operations in Mexico, the designation of Prospector as an
unrestricted subsidiary under Paragon's debt agreements, 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, actions by customers and other third parties, and other
factors detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of Paragon's annual
report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 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.
For additional
information, contact:
|
|
For
Investors
|
Lee M.
Ahlstrom
|
&
Media:
|
Senior Vice President
– Investor Relations, Strategy and Planning
|
|
+1.832.783.4040
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SOURCE Paragon Offshore plc