London, United Kingdom, August 31, 2022 - Aquadrill LLC ("Aquadrill” or the “Company") has extended a charter hire agreement with a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (the “Manager”) to provide the Company’s Vela rig, an MPD outfitted 7th generation drillship, for operations in the US Gulf of Mexico for a drilling contract with a minimum duration of 225 days, plus three market based options for an additional five to seven wells. The charter hire agreement will be extended if the optional term is exercised.
The terms of the charter hire agreement are consistent with the current management services agreements in place between the Company and the Manager. Further, the resulting financial benefits for the Company are as if the Company had entered into the drilling contract directly.
The total contract value for the firm 225 day minimum term of the drilling contract is expected to be $88 million with commencement expected in mid-January 2023.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, contracts, agreements, changes and trends in its business and the markets in which it operates. The duration, timing (including both starting and ending dates) and total contract value of customer contracts and any related agreements are estimates only. The actual total contract value over the course of any given contract or agreement may be lower and could be substantially lower, depending on a number of factors (cancellation, suspension, delays, rig downtime, etc.). These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks (some beyond the control of the Company), uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodic reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement