HAMILTON, Bermuda, Oct. 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Seadrill has with satisfaction noted the announcement made by the Oslo Stock Exchange on Friday, October 20 with respect to their general view on the relevance of total return swaps to the mandatory bid rules. The criteria defined by the Stock Exchange are decisive that such agreements shall not trigger an obligation to make a mandatory bid or influence the terms thereof. This corresponds fully with the facts relevant to Seadrill's total return swaps related to the Eastern Drilling ASA ("Eastern") share.
Seadrill therefore remains confident that it has acted in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Trading Act in making its mandatory bid for Eastern and that the Oslo Stock Exchange will reaffirm its approval thereof.
Irrespective of the above, Seadrill wishes to emphasize that the obvious alternative to completing the current mandatory bid will be to withdraw it and reduce its stake in Eastern to below 40 percent over the next 30 day period.
Seadrill Limited Hamilton, Bermuda October 23, 2006