Deepwater Pride South Pacific to continue operations offshore W/A

Pride International announced that its deepwater semi-submersible rig, Pride South Pacific, has been awarded a one year contract by a subsidiary of Noble Energy, Inc. for operations offshore Equatorial Guinea.

The contract is expected to commence during the first quarter of 2010, in direct continuation of the rig’s current contract commitment offshore West Africa and a scheduled shipyard program to be executed in Cape Town, South Africa. The one year contract duration could be extended by up to three months on the same terms and conditions following notification by the customer, which would be provided within the initial six months of the contract.

Revenues which could be generated over the firm one year contract duration are approximately $117.2 million, excluding revenues for mobilization, demobilization and client reimbursable.

The Pride South Pacific is one of eight deepwater semi-submersibles and drill-ships in the Pride International fleet. The rig, which completed a significant upgrade in 1998, utilizes a conventional chain and wire mooring system. The rig’s current equipment configuration allows for operations in water depths of up to 5,000 feet.