Prospector Offshore Drilling S.A. announced, April 25th, that one of its subsidiaries has received a Letter of Award (LoA) with Total E&P UK Limited and Elf Exploration UK Limited (together, “Total E&P UK”) for a drilling contract in the U.K. North Sea for its first jack-up rig, “Prospector Rig 1”.
The Award is subject to execution of a mutually-agreed drilling contract (the “Contract”), which is expected to be completed later in the second quarter of 2012. Under the expected Contract terms, the Contract would have an initial duration of 690 days. Total E&P UK would have the right to extend the initial Contract term for additional well testing and would have an option to drill two additional wells. If Total E&P UK exercised its right to do additional well testing on the initial wells and its option to drill the two optional wells, the Contract duration could be extended up to one to two years. The total aggregate revenue for the initial 690 day Contract is estimated to be approximately USD 135 million. The drilling program is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2013, following the delivery of Prospector Rig 1 from the shipyard in China, which is expected to occur in January 2013.
Robert W. Rose, the Company President and CE O, commented today: “This Award is a significant milestone for the Company, and we are very pleased to begin the Company’s operations with Total E&P UK, one of the largest operators in the North Sea. Combining the high specification design of Prospector Rig 1 and our seasoned operations team, we look forward to providing Total E&P U.K. with advanced and safe operations. The Company is in ongoing discussions regarding opportunities for our other rigs under construction.”
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Source: Prospector Offshore Drilling, May 4, 2012