Rowan Companies, Inc. (RDC) said it will resume construction of its fourth EXL class jack-up rig at the Keppel AmFELS, Inc. shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, with delivery expected in the first quarter of 2012.
The company said it decided to resume construction based on substantial positive changes in its liquidly outlook through 2010 and its expectation of generating an attractive return on the $120 million of net capital remaining to complete construction on this rig. The decision to resume construction is not expected to significantly impact the Company's 2009 capital expenditures which are estimated at $630 million, but will increase expected 2010 capital expenditures by around $50 million to a range of approximately $375-400 million. The Company anticipates funding these capital expenditures through available cash and operating cash flows.
Construction also continues on schedule and on budget for Rowan's second and third 240C jack-up rigs, the Ralph Coffman and theJoe Douglas, with delivery of those rigs scheduled for the first quarter of 2010 and the third quarter of 2011, respectively.
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