Atwood Places Order for 4th Drillship in South Korea

Atwood Oceanics, Inc. announced today that one of its subsidiaries has entered into a turnkey construction contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (“DSME”) to construct a fourth ultra-deepwater drillship, to be named the Atwood Archer, at the DSME yard in South Korea.

The Atwood Archer is expected to be delivered by December 31, 2015 at a total cost, including two blowout preventers (“BOPs”), project management, drilling and handling tools and spares, of approximately $635 million. Upon delivery, the Atwood Archer will become the seventeenth mobile offshore drilling unit owned by the Company.

The design of the Atwood Archer will be identical to the previously ordered Atwood Advantage, Atwood Achiever and Atwood Admiral – all four drillships are DP-3 dynamically-positioned, dual derrick ultra-deepwater drillships rated to operate in water depths up to 12,000 feet and drill to a depth of up to 40,000 feet.

This order comprises the execution of the option that was set to expire on June 30, 2013. In connection with the exercise, the Company has also secured an option to construct a fifth ultra-deepwater drillship at a similar cost to the Atwood Archer and with an expected delivery in September 2016, and which requires exercise by March 31, 2014. At this time, the Company has made no determination as to whether the option will be exercised.

Atwood Oceanics, Inc. is a global offshore drilling contractor engaged in the drilling and completion of exploratory and developmental oil and gas wells. The Company currently owns thirteen mobile offshore drilling units and is constructing four ultra-deepwater drillships. The Company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Atwood Oceanics, Inc. common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ATW.