Nido Petroleum Limited(ASX:NDO)("Nido"or the"Company")is pleased to advise that the Company has signed a binding rig contract with UMW Standard Drilling Sdn Bhd('UMWSD')for the Jack Up drilling rig"UMW Naga 5"to drill the Baragatan prospect on behalf of the SC 63 Joint Venture.
The UMW Naga 5 is a newly built premium Jack Up drilling rig that will be delivered by the Keppel Shipyard in May 2014.The UMW Naga 5 is capable of operating in water depths of up to four hundred feet(approximately 120 metres)and to drill to a total depth of thirty thousand feet(approximately 9,100 metres)sub-sea.
UMWSD is a wholly owned subsidiary of UMW Oil&Gas Corporation Berhad,a Malaysia-based multinational provider of drilling and oilfield services that has a fleet of five(5)offshore drilling rigs and have been carrying out offshore drilling operations since 2005.
The UMW Naga 5 will be contracted by the Joint Venture for a period of approximately 6 weeks with the expected commencement date being June 2014.
Commenting on the execution of the binding rig contract with UMWSD,Mr Byrne stated:"We are pleased to have signed a binding rig contract with UMWSD and we look forward to drilling operations commencing with respect to the Baragatan prospect.The Baragatan prospect is one of four wells that we will be drilling over the course of the next 6-12 months in the Philippines and Indonesia".
Nido will provide further updates on progress towards the drilling of the Baragatan prospect upon the achievement of major milestones.