RWE Withdraws Notice on Force Majeure Event on Atwood Aurora Rig, Offshore Egypt

Atwood Oceanics., a Houston-based international drilling contractor ,  announce that on February 21, 2011, our customer, RWE Dea Nile GmbH (“RWE”) formally withdrew its notice of a force majeure event, previously given on January 29, 2011 to Alpha Offshore Services Company (“Alpha”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atwood Oceanics, Inc.

The force majeure event intermittently affected the operations of the Atwood Aurora which is presently performing normal operations offshore Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea.

RWE and Alpha have agreed to a partial reduction of the operating day rate to apply during the period from January 28, 2011 to February 8, 2011 to account for the reduced manning levels on board the Atwood Aurora during that time period.

Force majeure (French for “superior force”), also known as cas fortuit (French) or casus fortuitus (Latin), is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term “act of God” (such as flooding, earthquake, or volcanic eruption), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.

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Source:Atwood Oceanics, February  22, 2011;