OREANDA-NEWS. Eurasia Drilling Company Limited ("EDC" or the "Company" - LSE: EDCL), the leading onshore & offshore drilling service provider in the CIS, announced its operational and financial update for the three months ending March 31, 2013. The financial data are based on management assessment only and have not been reviewed by external auditors.

THREE MONTHS 2013 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Top line revenue up 6% to USD 789 million (1Q 2012: USD 746 million);

EBITDA margin amounted to 22.6% (1Q 2012: 20.3%);

Net debt position (all debt reduced by cash) was USD 527 million as of March 31, 2013;

Dividend paid for the year ended December 31, 2012 amounted to USD 0.70 per share;

Capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment for three months ended March 31, 2013 were USD 79 million compared to USD 105 million for the corresponding period of 2012;

Mr. W. Richard Anderson, EDC’s Chief Financial Officer, commented,

“Our first quarter performance has set the stage for us to meet our financial and operational targets for the year. Our EBITDA is up approximately 18% compared to the first quarter of 2012 driven by excellent performance from both our onshore and offshore segments. Our balance sheet was recently augmented by the issuance of a seven year Eurobond which we were able to price at a favourable interest rate. We think we are uniquely poised to benefit from the upsurge in our clients’ capital spending plans.”

THREE MONTHS 2013 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Total drilling output during 1Q 2013 was up 6% and amounted to 1,366 thousand meters, while horizontal drilling volumes were slightly down by 2% compared to 1Q 2012 and amounted to 208 thousand meters;

During 1Q 2013 exploration drilling volumes decreased by 5% compared to 1Q 2012;

Sidetracking activity increased by 23% and amounted to 54 wells in 1Q 2013 as compared to 44 wells sidetracked in 1Q 2012;

Our market share amounted to approximately 29% based on metres drilled onshore in Russia during 1Q 2013;

During 1Q 2013 our ASTRA jack-up rig was employed in Russian waters of the Caspian Sea drilling for Lukoil;

During 1Q 2013 we completed one extended reach horizontal development well on Lukoil’s Yuri Korchagin field platform in the Caspian Sea;

Our SATURN jack-up rig continued its operations for Petronas Carigali in Turkmen waters of the Caspian Sea.

Dr. Alexander Djaparidze, EDC’s Chief Executive Officer, added,

“Our drilling for the quarter was up about 6% while the overall Russian market was up about 2%. We believe this difference validates our strategy of continuously investing in our rig fleet, personnel and business processes—including most importantly our commitment to safe operations. Our primary focus continues to be on execution and cost control. We look forward to adding our 3rd jack up drilling rig to the fleet in the third quarter of this year and expect another record year for the Company in 2013.”Conference Call Details

A conference call for investors and analysts hosted by senior management of the Company, will be held on the same day at 3:00 p.m. BST. Equivalent times for other locations: 4:00 p.m. Central Europe, 6:00 p.m. Moscow, 10:00 a.m. New York.