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8-K - FORM 8-K - DIAMOND OFFSHORE DRILLING, INC. | h78712e8vk.htm |
Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Les Van Dyke | |
Director, Investor Relations | ||
(281) 492-5370 |
DIAMOND OFFSHORE ANNOUNCES
ORDER FOR ULTRA-DEEPWATER DRILLSHIP
ORDER FOR ULTRA-DEEPWATER DRILLSHIP
Houston, Texas, January 3, 2011 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) today announced that a
subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, has entered into a turnkey contract with Hyundai
Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. for construction of a new ultra-deepwater drillship with delivery
scheduled for late in the second quarter of 2013. Total cost, including commissioning, spares and
project management, is expected to be approximately $590 million and will be paid out of available
funds. Diamond Offshore has also obtained from Hyundai a fixed-price option for the purchase of a
second drillship which the Company has the right to exercise at any time before the end of the
first quarter of 2011.
The dynamically-positioned drillship will have a seven ram blow-out preventer, dual activity
capability, five mud pumps and a maximum hook-load capacity of 1,250 tons. The unit will be
designed for operations in up to 12,000 feet of water.
Diamond Offshore President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Dickerson said: The addition of a new
drillship to our fleet is part of a continuing effort to enhance our ultra-deepwater capabilities
at attractive capital costs. Including our opportunistic acquisitions of the Ocean Courage and
Ocean Valor in 2009, we have now purchased, ordered or upgraded six 10,000-foot ultra-deepwater
units over the last four years. New drillship construction costs have declined substantially from
peak pricing. As a result, we believe this new drillship will provide returns consistent with our
long history of value creation for the Company and our stockholders.
Diamond Offshore provides contract drilling services to the energy industry and is a leader in
deepwater drilling. Additional information on Diamond Offshore and access to the Companys SEC
filings is available on the Internet at www.diamondoffshore.com.
Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements concerning future costs, sources of funds, timing of delivery and
future returns, and are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of risks that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expected by management of the Company. A discussion
of the important risk factors and other considerations that could materially impact these matters
as well as the Companys overall business and financial performance can be found in the Companys
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and readers of this release are urged to
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review those reports carefully when considering these forward-looking statements. Copies of these
reports are available through the Companys website www.diamondoffshore.com. Given these
risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Any such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to
any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Companys expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement
is based.
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