Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (ATW)

[eastunder]

Atwood customer drops ‘force majure’ claim

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2011/02/22/atwood-customer-drops-force-majure.html?ana=yfcpc

Drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics Inc. said a customer had withdrawn its “force majure” notice now that tensions in Egypt have settled.

A force majure notice implies that a customer will not be able to fulfill its part of a contract due to circumstances beyond its control, in this case the political turmoil experienced by Egypt though early February.

Houston-based Atwood (NYSE: ATW) said customer RWE Dea Nile GmbH —which declared a force majure Feb. 1 — has rescinded its notice.

RWE contracted the Atwood Aurora, a rig deployed by Atwood subsidiary Alpha Offshore Services Co. off Egypt’s coast. RWE and Atwood have agreed to a reduction of the operating day rate for the period work on the rig had stopped.