HOUSTON, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ATWOOD OCEANICS,
INC., a Houston-based
international offshore drilling contractor (NYSE: ATW), announced
today that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded two contracts
by Apache Energy Ltd for work in Australia for the Atwood Eagle and the
Atwood Falcon with durations of 18 months and 30 months,
respectively. With these contracts, Atwood's total revenue backlog
increases from approximately $990 million to
$1,550 million.
The Atwood Eagle is expected to commence its contract in
July 2012 in direct continuation of
its prior contract. The Atwood Falcon will undergo
approximately 90 days of planned maintenance and contract
preparation work prior to transiting to Australia to commence operations expected in
May 2012. The firm contractual
commitments for the Atwood Eagle and the Atwood
Falcon are expected to extend to January
2014 and November 2014,
respectively.
"We are very pleased to be providing deepwater drilling services
to Apache with these two longer-term agreements," commented
Rob Saltiel, Atwood President & CEO. "Atwood has been
active in Australia for over 35
years, and we look forward to increasing our presence further in
this growing and strategic market."
Statements contained in this press release with respect to
the future, including the commencement of the contracts and the
out-of-service period, are forward-looking statements. These
statements reflect management's reasonable judgment with respect to
future events. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
risks, uncertainties and assumptions and actual results could
differ materially from those anticipated as a result of various
factors including: uncertainties related to the level of activity
in offshore oil and gas exploration and development; oil and gas
prices; competition and market conditions in the contract drilling
industry; the risks inherent in the construction of a rig; delays
in the commencement of operations of a rig following delivery; our
ability to enter into and the terms of future contracts; possible
cancelation or suspension of drilling contracts; the availability
of qualified personnel; labor relations; operating hazards and
risks; terrorism and political and other uncertainties inherent in
foreign operations (including risk of war, civil disturbances,
seizure or damage to equipment and exchange and currency
fluctuations); the impact of governmental and industry laws
and regulations; and environmental matters. These factors and
others are described and discussed in our most recently filed
annual report on Form 10-K, in our Forms 10-Q for subsequent
periods and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission which are available on the SEC's website as
www.sec.gov. Each forward looking statement speaks only
as of the date of the particular statement and we undertake no duty
to update the content of this press release or any forward-looking
statement contained herein to conform the statement to actual
results or to reflect changes in our expectations.
SOURCE Atwood Oceanics, Inc.