February 11, 2021 – Hamilton, Bermuda. Northern Ocean Ltd. (“NOL”) announces that it has reached an agreement in principle with Seadrill Limited (“Seadrill”) to settle outstanding balances. Upon concluding the settlement, NOL is expected to be well positioned to continue operations on its two high specification harsh environment drilling rigs in the North Sea.
The settlement payments will be completed in two parts. Firstly, NOL will make certain quarterly instalment payments with the final payment due December 31, 2021. Total payments by December 2021 are expected to be approximately USD 45 million, including management fee and other adjustments. Secondly, Seadrill will retain the net earnings generated under the West Bollsta contract from commencement October 6 2020 and up until March 1, 2021, including payments for client rebills and modifications.
After March 1, 2021, NOL is expected to retain the net earnings from the West Bollsta contract and an operating structure similar to the West Mira is expected to be implemented, which includes consolidation of the West Bollsta drilling operations in NOL group reporting.
The settlement is subject to several conditions, including amendments from its secured lenders which is expected to include amortization relief and maturity extensions. The settlement is also conditional upon Seadrill obtaining approval by the bankruptcy court under their Chapter 11 protection in the US.
In connection with the settlement NOL has committed to raise USD 30 million of new equity.
Additional information about the Company can be found at: www.northernocean.no
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Forward Looking Statements Matters discussed in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the Company and/or the industry in which it operates, sometimes identified by the words “believes”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “estimates” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this release, including assumptions, opinions and views of the Company or cited from third-party sources, are solely opinions and forecasts which are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from any anticipated development. The Company does not provide any assurance that that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors, nor does the Company accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in the presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. No obligations are assumed to update any forward-looking statements or to conform to these forward-looking statements to actual results.