Atwood to Upgrade the Seahawk

Atwood to Upgrade the Seahawk; Woodside Exercises Options for Eagle
Atwood Oceanics 6/16/2005
Atwood Oceanics reports that the Seahawk, owned and operated by its wholly owned subsidiary Atwood Oceanics Pacific Limited, will undergo certain life enhancing upgrades upon completion of its current contractual commitment offshore Malaysia, which is currently estimated to be in March 2006. These upgrades will be performed at a shipyard in or around Singapore and will include deck expansion and strengthening, refurbishment of accommodations, additions of hull sponsons, steel replacement and certain other structural improvements. These various life enhancing upgrades are estimated to cost around $15 million and are being planned to utilize the time that will be available while preparing the rig for its two-year firm contract offshore Equatorial Guinea, which, after mobilization from Southeast Asia, is estimated to commence in August 2006.

The Atwood Eagle is currently drilling the fourth (4) well of a now ten- well (10) program for Woodside Energy, Ltd www.woodside.com.au , after Woodside exercised its option to drill three (3) additional wells. The drilling of the original seven-well program is expected to extend into September 2005. The drilling of the three (3) addition wells could occur before or after BHP Billiton Petroleum drills its first commitment of one to two wells, with each well taking approximately 30 days to complete. The dayrate for the original seven- well program range from $89,000 to $109,000 depending upon water depth of each well; while, the dayrate for the three additional wells will range from $160,000 to $180,000 depending upon water depth of each well.

The Atwood Beacon continues to work under its drilling program for Hoang Long in Vietnam which now includes the drilling of four (4) firm wells, after the exercise of the first of three option wells. The drilling of the now four (4) firm wells is expected to take until October/November 2005 to complete. If the two (2) remaining option wells are drilled, the contract could extend into January/February 2006. The dayrate, net of tax reimbursement, for the first three wells is $62,000, with the fourth well and any other option wells drilled having a net dayrate of $77,000.

The Atwood Southern Cross has completed its contract with Daewoo offshore Myanmar and is being demobilized to Singapore to prepare for its relocation to the Mediterranean Sea for its next drilling program of three (3) firm wells plus one (1) option well.