OCTOBER 8, 2013 — Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE: ATW) announced today that one of its subsidiaries had entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its standard jack-up drilling unit, the Vicksburg, to Gulf Drilling International Ltd (Q.S.C.) for a sales price of $55.4 million. The closing of the sale is expected to occur in early 2014 following the completion of the unit's contract with its current customer, CEC International, Ltd. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

According to the Atwood Oceanics web site, the Vicksburg was originally built in 1976 and upgraded in 1998. It is capable of drilling to 25,000 ft in a maximum water depth of 300 ft.

Rob Saltiel, Atwood Oceanics President and CEO, commented, "The sale of the Vicksburg supports our strategy of high-grading the quality and capability of our drilling rig fleet through newbuild construction and selective asset divestitures."