DryShips's (NASDAQ: DRYS) fully-owned subsidiary Ocean Rig UDW Inc. received a Letter of Award from a U.S. exploration company for a four well contract for exploration drilling offshore West Africa for a period of about 300 days, commencing in the first or second quarter of
2011. The contract value is approximately $135m. The contract is subject to final documentation. Mr. George Economou, Chairman and CEO of DryShips Inc. and interim CEO of Ocean
Rig UDW Inc., said: “We are pleased to secure employment for one of our first two drillships that will be delivered from Samsung during the first quarter 2011. This will serve as a catalyst to
securing bank financing on preferred terms. We continue to see strong interest for our state of the art sixth generation drillships operated by our experienced ultra-deepwater operator Ocean Rig.”