Premier and Noble Energy entered into a contract with Ocean Rig UDW (“Ocean Rig”) on 3 June 2014, for the provision of the Eirik Raude drilling unit for an exploration drilling campaign in the Falkland Islands.

Following a number of material operational issues with the Eirik Raude rig during the term of the contract to date, Premier and Noble Energy issued a termination notice to Ocean Rig on 11 February 2016, terminating the contract with immediate effect. As a result, Premier will no longer be drilling the Chatham exploration well during the current campaign. However, we are in discussions with the Falkland Islands Government regarding the possibility of drilling this prospect in the future.

About Premier Oil

Premier is currently producing around 60,000 boepd. The bulk of this production is generated from assets operated by Premier – Premier is experienced in operating producing assets with Balmoral in the UK North Sea, Natuna Sea Block A (Anoa and Gajah Baru) in Indonesia and Chim Sáo in Vietnam. We are also the operator of the bulk of our next generation projects.
About Ocean Rig

Ocean Rig is an international offshore drilling contractor providing oilfield services for offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production drilling, and specializing in the ultra-deepwater and harsh-environment segment of the offshore drilling industry.