Pacific Drilling Announces Second Half and Full Year 2011 Results

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE:PACD) (NOTC:PDSA) today announced net income of $0.5 million or $0.00 per diluted share on revenue of $65.4 million for the six months ended December 31, 2011. In the comparable prior year period, net loss after adjusting for the divestiture of our joint venture with Transocean was $12.0 million or $0.08 per diluted share on no revenue. Including income from the joint venture, reported earnings for the six months ended December 31, 2010 were $21.3 million or $0.14 per diluted share.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the net loss after adjusting for the excluded joint venture was $22.0 million or $0.11 per diluted share on revenue of $65.4 million. In the prior year period, after adjusting for the excluded joint venture, net loss was $20.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share on no revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the reported net loss was $2.9 million or $0.01 per diluted share as compared with reported net income of $37.3 million or $0.25 per diluted share for the prior year period.

Christian J. Beckett, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "2011 was a defining year for Pacific Drilling, as we became a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We are proud to cite a long list of achievements during our transition from rig construction to operations. We successfully took delivery of three more drillships, commenced drilling operations in Nigeria on two rigs, ordered two more drillships, increased our backlog to $2.1 billion through contracts with world-class integrated oil companies and continued to grow the Pacific Drilling team, onshore and offshore, to nearly 900 staff."

Regarding the company´s progress in 2012, Mr. Beckett commented, "To date in 2012, we have started operations on our third rig, the Pacific Mistral, with Petrobras in Brazil, representing our entry into that growing market. The Pacific Santa Ana is en route to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to begin drilling operations with Chevron as the world´s first Dual Gradient drillship. We are in advanced discussions with several parties interested in both the Pacific Khamsin and the Pacific Sharav, which are available in 2013, and we believe that the market for rigs delivered in 2013 and 2014 will continue to be very robust. Our recently exercised option for a seventh ultra-deepwater drillship provides further attractive market exposure with delivery scheduled for May 2014."

Operational Commentary

During 2011, our company started drilling operations with the Pacific Bora and earned its first contract drilling revenue. Consequently, our financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011, included several items normal for start-up of operations. These items comprised primarily the expensing of shore-based and other operational support costs in advance of actual rig operations, legal and other professional fees incurred in connection with financing transactions, and specific issues related to engine performance on one of our delivered vessels.

Contract drilling revenue for the second half of 2011 was $65.4 million as compared to no drilling revenue in the prior year. Pacific Bora commenced drilling operations in Nigeria on August 26, 2011, with a subsidiary of Chevron. Through December 31, 2011, Pacific Bora achieved revenue efficiency of 93.2%. Revenue efficiency is defined as actual contractual dayrate revenue (excludes mobilization fees, upgrade reimbursements and other revenue sources) divided by the maximum amount of contractual dayrate revenue that could have been earned during such period. The total 2011 contract drilling revenue included $8.6 million in recognition of deferred revenue for mobilization and contract preparation.

In the third quarter 2011, the Pacific Scirocco underwent repairs and upgrades to ensure engine reliability. The lost time was a covered event under Pacific Drilling´s loss of hire policy and resulted in $18.5 million in loss of hire insurance recovery recognized in 2011. In February 2012, the company received an additional $23.7 million in net loss of hire insurance recovery. Following the repairs and upgrades, Pacific Scirocco entered service in Nigeria on December 31, 2011, with a subsidiary of Total.

Financial Commentary

Chief Financial Officer William Restrepo commented, "Over the past year our financial position has strengthened considerably due to the visibility of the cash flow provided by our $2.1 billion backlog and by the approximately $1 billion in incremental financing raised since March of 2011, from both equity and debt capital markets. We have demonstrated to our shareholders the willingness to continue the disciplined growth of our fleet, by funding our capital projects with solid financing that reinforces the strength of our balance sheet."

Our cash balances on December 31, 2011, stood at $484.2 million, including $377.0 million of restricted cash related essentially to our project financing facility and collateral for our bonds and lines of credit. We expect the restricted cash balances to decrease over time as we amortize the outstanding debt on our facility and we release most of our existing cash collateral. In February 2012, the company placed $300 million in senior unsecured bonds with international institutional investors to support the financing of our seventh rig and our working capital requirements.

During 2011, we invested $1,540 million in the expansion of the fleet and drew down $1,275 million on our Project Facilities Agreement, which was used to support the financing of our first four drillships. On December 31, 2011, our outstanding debt was $1,675 million.

On March 30, 2011, our predecessor company transferred its interest in Transocean Pacific Drilling Inc. ("TPDI") to a subsidiary of the Quantum Pacific Group. Neither Pacific Drilling nor any of its subsidiaries currently own any interest in TPDI and, following the transfer, the results of operations of TPDI are no longer included in Pacific Drilling´s financial results.

2012 Guidance

We expect revenue efficiency to average between 90% and 93% for the coming year; however, this average annual revenue efficiency may fluctuate from quarter to quarter. We anticipate that direct rig operating costs, excluding amortization of deferred operating expenses, will range between $160,000 and $165,000 per day per rig, and shore-based and other operations support costs are expected to be an additional $12,000 to $14,000 dollars per day per rig. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the full year 2012 should range between $40 million and $45 million, including $2 million of legal and other professional fees related to our project facilities agreement. We expect depreciation for 2012 to range between 20% and 22% of contract drilling revenues. Finally, income tax expense is anticipated to range between 4% and 5% of contract drilling revenue. Please note the guidance above is based on current expectations and certain management assumptions, and is subject to change.

Conference Call

Pacific Drilling will conduct a conference call at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, to discuss second half and full year 2011 results. To participate, dial +1 719-325-2229 or 1-888-461-2014 and refer to confirmation code 7407715 approximately five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet in a listen-only mode and can be accessed by a link posted in the "Events & Presentations" subsection of the "Investor Relations" section of the company´s website, www.pacificdrilling.com.

An audio replay of the conference call will be available after 12:00 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, by dialing +1 719-457-0820 or 1-888-203-1112 and using access code 7407715. A replay of the call will also be available on the company´s website.

With its best-in-class drillships and highly experienced team, Pacific Drilling is a fast growing company that is committed to becoming the industry´s preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor. Pacific Drilling´s fleet of seven ultra-deepwater drillships will represent one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the world. The company currently operates four recently delivered drillships and has two additional drillships under construction and one on order at Samsung. For more information about Pacific Drilling, including our current Fleet Status, please visit our website at www.pacificdrilling.com.

Statements regarding the estimated duration of client contracts, contract dayrate amounts, future contract commencement dates and locations, backlog, timing and delivery of newbuilds, growth opportunities, market outlook and other statements that are not historical facts in this press release are forward-looking statements and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and consequently actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of them in light of new information, future events or otherwise.

Assets:

-

5,487

-

Total current assets

-

-

Total assets

Liabilities and shareholders´ equity:

-

Total current liabilities

Total long-term liabilities

Commitments and contingencies

Shareholders´ equity:

and 2,000,000 shares authorized, 224,100,000 and 1,920,761 shares

issued, 216,900,000 and 1,920,761 shares outstanding

as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively

Total shareholders´ equity

Total liabilities and shareholders´ equity

Six Months Ended December 31,

2011

Contract drilling

-

-

Contract drilling

-

-

General and administrative expenses

Depreciation expense

Loss of hire insurance recovery

-

-

Equity in earnings of Joint Venture

-

Interest income from Joint Venture

-

Interest expense

Other income (expense)

Income tax (expense) benefit

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,865