LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that its ultra-deepwater drillship the Pacific Khamsin has been awarded a contract by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Chevron Corporation for operations in West Africa. The minimum duration of the contract is for an initial two-year term, with contract commencement expected by end of the third quarter of 2013. The contract provides for an option, to be exercised at the client’s discretion prior to shipyard delivery of the drillship, which could result in an additional year of contract term. Estimated maximum contract revenues related to the initial two-year term, including mobilization and demobilization, are expected to be approximately $527 million, bringing Pacific Drilling’s total contract backlog as of November 15, 2012, to approximately $3.4 billion.
Pacific Drilling CEO Chris Beckett stated, “We are proud to announce the further expansion of our relationship with subsidiaries of Chevron Corporation to this fourth drillship. This contract exemplifies our commitment to providing quality drilling operations for our clients and allows us to leverage the operations support infrastructure which we have already developed in the region.”
Pacific Khamsin is scheduled for delivery by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea in the second quarter of 2013. The drillship will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells up to 40,000 feet deep.
About Pacific Drilling
With its best-in-class drillships and highly experienced team, Pacific Drilling is a fast growing company that is committed to becoming the industry’s preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor. Pacific Drilling’s fleet of seven ultra-deepwater drillships will represent one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the world. The company currently operates four recently delivered drillships under customer contract and has three drillships under construction at Samsung, two of which are under customer contract. For more information about Pacific Drilling, including our current Fleet Status, please visit our website at www.pacificdrilling.com.
Statements regarding the estimated delivery of our drillships, estimated duration of client contracts, contract revenue amounts, backlog and other statements that are not historical facts in this press release are forward-looking statements and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and consequently actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of them in light of new information, future events or otherwise.