Seadrill has taken delivery of two deep water drilling rigs West Phoenix and West Sirius from the Samsung Shipyard in South Korea and Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, respectively.

West Sirius was delivered within 30 days from original delivery schedule, while West Phoenix, due to customer-initiated modifications, was delivered approximately three months after original contract date. Both drilling rigs were delivered with only minor deviation to the budget which was agreed when the rigs were fixed to the charterer.

The units will proceed for mobilisation, and estimated time of arrival for West Phoenix in the North Sea is in the beginning of the third quarter 2008, and estimated time of arrival for West Sirius in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the second quarter 2008.

Both drilling units have secured long-term contracts. West Phoenix has a three-year contract with Total Norge to utilise the unit in the North Atlantic region. West Sirius has a four-year assignment with Devon Energy Corp. to utilise the unit in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kjell Jacobsen, CEO of Seadrill Management AS, said: "Seadrill has reached a highly important milestone with the delivery of the first two newbuild deepwater drilling units out of eight units to be delivered this year."

Upon commencement of the contracts, Seadrill will invoice their two customers approximately $70 million in mobilisation payments.

Chairman of Seadrill, John Fredriksen, said : "The completion of the two newbuilding projects confirms the Seadrill organisation's ability to manage complex projects within time and cost and is a great achievement for our organisation and the people involved.