ATW Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (delisted)

Atwood Announces Contract Awards HOUSTON, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) (Houston-based International Offshore Drilling Contractor) announced today that Sarawak Shell has reinstated a contract to utilize the ATWOOD FALCON to drill two firm wells with options to drill three additional wells offshore Malaysia. The dayrate for all wells drilled will vary with the water depths of the wells: $83,300 for water depths in excess of 2,500 feet; $68,300 for water depths between 1,000 feet and 2,500 feet and $53,000 for water depths less than 1,000 feet. This drilling program should commence around August 1, 2004 with the drilling of the two firm wells expected to take approximately 60 days to complete. If all three options wells are drilled, the program could extend into December 2004. The Company also announced that Woodside Energy Ltd. has awarded the ATWOOD EAGLE a contract to drill two firm wells, with an option to drill one additional well, offshore Australia; however, Woodside has the option to only drill one well in the event that due to an extension in the rig's current drilling program Woodside cannot drill both firm wells before the end of November 2004. The contract provides for a dayrate of $89,000 for all wells drilled in up to 600 meters of water. This drilling program will commence immediately upon the rig completing its current drilling program for BHP Billiton Petroleum Pty. and Apache Energy Limited which is currently estimated to be in August 2004. The drilling of the two firm wells is estimated to take approximately 100 days to complete. Statements contained in this release with respect to the future are forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's reasonable judgment with respect to future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated as a result of various factors; the Company's dependence on the oil and gas industry; the risks involved in upgrade to the Company's rigs; competition; operating risks; risks involved in foreign operations; risks associated with possible disruptions in operations due to terrorism; and governmental regulations and environmental matters. A list of additional risk factors can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2003, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Atwood Oceanics, Inc. CONTACT: Jim Holland of Atwood Oceanics, Inc., +1-281-749-7804 Web site: http://www.atwd.com/

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