STAVANGER, Norway, Aug. 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In relation to the ruling made by the Stavanger District Court in the dispute between Smedvig (NYSE:SMVa) (NYSE:SMVb) and Esso with regard to the completion of the Balder production vessel, the deadline for submission of an appeal is August 30, 2003.
Based on a thorough assessment of all aspects of the dispute, Smedvig has decided not to appeal the ruling. However, Smedvig's decision is conditional of Esso refraining from appealing the ruling.
Media Contact: Kjell E Jacobsen, Chief Executive Officer +47 51 50 99 19/ + 47 90 88 08 71 Analyst Contact: Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Financial Officer +47 51 50 99 19/ + 47 97 75 08 33 Jim Datland, Investor Relations Manager + 47 51 50 99 19
Smedvig asa is an offshore drilling contractor headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. The company provides drilling and well services in the North Atlantic and Southeast Asia. Smedvig's main activities are divided into mobile units, tender rigs and platform drilling. Smedvig has a fleet of three modern drilling rigs, one drillship and nine tender rigs and has one tender rig under construction. The company holds contracts for production drilling, well services and maintenance on fixed installations.
This news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect current views with respect to future events and are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties, because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Many factors could influence actual developments and performance and could cause them differ materially from those described by these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these factors please see "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year 2002 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available on our website at www.smedvig.no.
Smedvig asa P.O. Box 110, 4001 Stavanger Phone: +47 51 50 99 00 Fax: +47 51 50 96 88 Web site: www.smedvig.no E-mail: smedvig@smedvig.no