OREANDA-NEWS. Atwood Oceanics, Inc.  (NYSE: ATW) announced today that one of its subsidiaries agreed to an extension and rate adjustment to its existing contract with Noble Energy, Inc. for the ultra-deepwater rig, the Atwood Advantage, effective November 9, 2015.  The agreement is to extend the contract for the purposes of a plugging and abandoning four well program in the Gulf of Mexico that has an estimated duration of one hundred and twenty (120) days during the contract term and is anticipated to occur in 2016.  This extension adjusts the operating day rate to approximately $240,000 per day only during the four plug and abandon wells and makes the new contract expiry date approximately August 2017.   

Atwood Oceanics, Inc. is a leading offshore drilling contractor engaged in the drilling and completion of exploratory and developmental wells for the global oil and gas industry. The Company currently owns 11 mobile offshore drilling units and is constructing two ultra-deepwater drillships.  The Company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.  Atwood Oceanics, Inc. common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ATW."