OCEAN RIG UDW INC. REPORTS FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2012

May 29, 2012, Nicosia, Cyprus. Ocean Rig UDW Inc. 
(NASDAQ: ORIG), or the Company, a global contractor of 
off-shore deepwater drilling services today announced 
its unaudited financial and operating results for the 
first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter 2012 Financial Highlights

For the first quarter of 2012, the 
Company 
reported a net loss of $46.3 million, or $0.35 basic 
and diluted loss per share. The loss is largely 
attributed to downtime and mobilization related to the 
commencement of new contracts.

Included in the first quarter of 2012 results are 
charges relating to an out-of-court settlement and 
associated legal costs for $6.4 million, or $0.05 per 
share. As has been previously disclosed, a legal claim 
was made by the Company's manager in Angola for the 
reimbursement of import/export duties levied by the 
Angolan government for the period 2002 to 2007 when 
the Leiv Eiriksson operated in Angola. An agreement 
has been reached for an amount paid by the Company in 
full and final settlement of the London High Court 
proceedings.

Excluding the above items, the Company's net results 
would have amounted to a net loss of $39.9 million or 
$0.30 per share.

The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA 
of $52.1 
million for the first quarter of 2012 as compared to 
$61.5 million for the first quarter of 2011.(1)

Recent Events

·	On May 15, 2012 the Ocean Rig Corcovado 
completed the general testing of equipment as required 
by Petroleo Brazilieiro S.A., and has commenced 
revenue-generating drilling operations in Brazil.

·	On May 14 and May 9, 2012, the Company signed 
amendments under its $990 million senior secured 
credit facilities and $800 million senior secured term 
loan agreement, respectively, to, among other things, 
allow: Ocean Rig UDW Inc. to pay dividends in an 
amount up to 50% of its net income subject to certain 
conditions being met; allow borrowers, which are 
subsidiaries of the Company, to pay dividends to Ocean 
Rig UDW Inc., as long as certain conditions are met; 
and remove all cross-default or cross-acceleration 
clauses relating to the debt of DryShips Inc.

·	On May 10, 2012 the Company signed definitive 
documentation for the Ocean Rig Olympia 

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure, please see 
later in this press release for a reconciliation to 
net income. 

with Total E&P Angola ("Total"). The contract is for a 
three-year period for drilling offshore West Africa, 
with an estimated backlog of approximately $652 
million. Total has the option to extend the contract 
for two periods of one year each. 


George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
of the Company commented:

"The build out of Ocean Rig continues as all six rigs 
are now operating on contracts. The short term 
contracts we had taken during 2010 and 2011 will all 
play out over the next twelve months, after which all 
the rigs will be on long-term contracts. This year we 
have entered into two three-year contracts with Total, 
solely on the Ocean Rig Olympia and as lead operator 
on the Leiv Eiriksson contract. With these contracts 
our total backlog has increased to $2.9 billion and 
provides good cash flow visibility. 

"During the quarter we also streamlined our bank debt 
covenants to allow for dividends of the parent company 
and remove the ring fencing of our various lending 
facilities. In addition, we have now removed all 
cross-default provisions relating to the debt of 
DryShips creating a clear separation of the credit 
profile of Ocean Rig.

"We believe the outlook for the ultra deepwater 
drilling industry is very positive given the high 
level of demand we are seeing from all over the globe. 
Capital expenditures from oil companies are expected 
to increase by close to 15% this year and a major 
portion of this will be targeted towards exploration 
and development. An increasing number of large 
discoveries have also been announced in deepwater and 
ultra deepwater in several new oil and gas provinces, 
which should provide long-term demand for rigs into 
the foreseeable future. Given strong industry 
fundamentals and the fact that there are virtually no 
available units in 2012 we expect to further increase 
our backlog by entering into long term contracts for 
our three 2013 newbuilding drillships, the Eirik Raude 
and the Ocean Rig Poseidon."

Financial Review: 2012 First Quarter

The Company recorded net loss of $46.3 million, or 
$0.35 basic and diluted loss per share, for the three-
month period ended March 31, 2012, as compared to net 
income of $28.9 million, or $0.22 basic and diluted 
earnings per share, for the three-month period ended 
March 31, 2011. Adjusted EBITDA was $52.1 million for 
the first quarter of 2012 as compared to $61.5 million 
for the same period in 2011.

Revenues from drilling contracts increased by $53.7 
million to $163.0 million for the three-month period 
ended March 31, 2012, as compared to $109.3 million 
for the same period in 2011. 

Rig operating expenses and total depreciation and 
amortization increased to $85.3 million and $54.7 
million, respectively, for the three-month period 
ended March 31, 2012, from $41.9 million and $28.2 
million, respectively, for the three-month period 
ended December 31, 2011. Total general and 
administrative expenses increased to $16.3 million in 
the first quarter of 2012 from $7.2 million during the 
comparative period in 2011. 

Fleet List 

The table below describes our fleet profile as of May 
29, 2012:

Drilling Rigs / Drillships:


Unit 	Year built 	Redelivery 	Operating area	
Backlog ($m) (*)
Leiv Eiriksson 	2001 	Q4 - 12	Falkland Islands	
$ 118
Leiv Eiriksson 	2001 	Q1 - 16	North Sea	$ 653
Eirik Raude 	2002	Q2 - 12	Ivory Coast	$ 42
Eirik Raude 	2002	Q3 - 12	Equatorial Guinea	
$ 50
Eirik Raude	2002	Q1- 13	West Africa	$ 75
Ocean Rig Corcovado 	2011 	Q2 - 15	Brazil	$ 534
Ocean Rig Olympia 	2011 	Q2 - 12	Ghana	$ 54
Ocean Rig Olympia	2011	Q3- 15	Angola	$ 652
Ocean Rig Poseidon 	2011 	Q2 - 13	Tanzania 	
$ 233
Ocean Rig Mykonos 	2011 	Q1 - 15	Brazil 	$ 524
Total				$ 2,935

(*) Backlog as of March 31, 2012 as adjusted for firm 
contracts thereafter


(Expressed in Thousands of U.S. Dollars 
except for share and per share data)		
Three Months Ended
 March 31,		
 		2011		2012		
						
						
REVENUES:						
Revenues from drilling contracts	$	
109,326	$	162,999		
						
						
EXPENSES:						
Drilling rig operating expenses		41,850		
85,340		
Depreciation and amortization		28,197		
54,680		
General and administrative expenses		7,156		
16,269		
Legal settlements		-		6,424		
Operating income  		32,123		286		
						
OTHER INCOME/(EXPENSES):						
Interest and finance costs, net of interest income		
3,029		(30,328)		
Loss on interest rate swaps			
(1,517)		(3,362)		
Other, net		1,193		(2,911)		
Income taxes		(5,961)		(10,032)		
Total other expenses		(3,256)		
(46,633)		
						
Net  income/(loss) 	
$	28,867	
$	(46,347)	
	
						
						
Earnings/(loss) per common share, basic and diluted	
$	0.22	$	(0.35)		
						
Weighted average number of shares, basic and diluted 		
131,696,928		131,696,928		
						
Ocean Rig UDW Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets 


				

(Expressed in Thousands of U.S. Dollars)		
December 31, 2011	   	
March 31, 2012

				
ASSETS				
CURRENT ASSETS:				
	Cash and cash equivalents	$	
250,878	$	126,589
	Restricted cash		57,060		55,264
	Other current assets		188,471		
242,660
	Total current assets		496,409		
424,513
					
FIXED ASSETS, NET:				
	Advances for rigs assets under construction 
and acquisitions 		754,925		
766,601
	Drilling rigs, machinery and equipment, net		
4,538,838		4,512,128
	Total fixed assets, net		5,293,763		
5,278,729
					
OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS:				
     Restricted cash		  125,040		
125,063
     Other non-current assets 		100,143		
161,336
     Total non-current assets		225,183		
286,399
	Total assets		6,015,355		
5,989,641
					


LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY				
					
CURRENT LIABILITIES:				
	Current portion of long-term debt 		
210,166		210,244
	Other current liabilities		
217,391		277,556
	Total current liabilities		
427,557		487,800
					
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES:				
Long-term debt, net of current portion		
2,525,599		2,466,490
Other non-current liabilities		63,743		                      
77,400
Total non-current liabilities		2,589,342		
2,543,890
					

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:				
	Total stockholders' equity		                 
2,998,456		2,957,951
	Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	
$	6,015,355	$	5,989,641
					

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest, 
taxes, depreciation and amortization, gains or losses 
on interest rate swaps and other operating expenses. 
Adjusted EBITDA does not represent and should not be 
considered as an alternative to net income or cash 
flow from operations, as determined by United States 
generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. 
GAAP, and our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not 
be comparable to that reported by other companies. 
Adjusted EBITDA is included herein because it is a 
basis upon which the Company measures its operations 
and efficiency. Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our 
lenders as a measure of our compliance with certain 
covenants contained in our loan agreements and because 
the Company believes that it presents useful 
information to investors regarding a company's ability 
to service and/or incur indebtedness.

The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted 
EBITDA

(Dollars in thousands)		

Three Months Ended 
March 31, 	
		2011		2012	
Net income/(loss) 	$	28,867	$	
(46,347)	
					
Add: Net interest expense/(income)		
(3,029)		30,328	
Add: Depreciation and amortization		28,197		
54,680	
Add: Income taxes		5,961		10,032	
Add: Loss on interest rate swaps		1,517		
3,362	
Adjusted EBITDA	$	61,513	$	52,055	

Conference Call and Webcast: May 30, 2012

As announced, the Company's management team will host 
a conference call, on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 8:00 
a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to discuss the Company's 
financial results.

Conference Call Details

Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes 
before the scheduled time using the following numbers: 
1(866) 819-7111 (from the US), 0(800) 953-0329 (from 
the UK) or +(44) (0) 1452 542 301 (from outside the 
US). Please quote "Ocean Rig"

A replay of the conference call will be available 
until June 06, 2012. The United States replay number 
is 1(866) 247-4222; from the UK 0(800) 953-1533; the 
standard international replay number is (+44) (0) 1452 
550 000 and the access code required for the replay 
is: 55592075#.

A replay of the conference call will also be available 
on the Company's website at www.ocean-rig.com under 
the Investor Relations section.

Slides and audio webcast:

There will also be a simultaneous live webcast over 
the Internet, through the Ocean Rig UDW Inc. website 
www.ocean-rig.com. Participants to the live webcast 
should register on the website approximately 10 
minutes prior to the start of the webcast.

About Ocean Rig UDW Inc.

Ocean Rig is an international offshore drilling 
contractor providing oilfield services for offshore 
oil and gas exploration, development and production 
drilling, and specializing in the ultra-deepwater and 
harsh-environment segment of the offshore drilling 
industry. The company owns and operates 9 offshore 
ultra deepwater drilling units, comprising of 2 ultra 
deepwater semisubmersible drilling rigs and 7 ultra 
deepwater drillships, 3 of which remain to be 
delivered to the company during 2013.   
Ocean Rig' common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global 
Select Market where it trades under the symbol "ORIG"

Visit the Company's website at www.ocean-rig.com

Forward-Looking Statement

Matters discussed in this release may constitute 
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements 
reflect our current views with respect to future 
events and financial performance and may include 
statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, 
strategies, future events or performance, and 
underlying assumptions and other statements, which are 
other than statements of historical facts.

The forward-looking statements in this release are 
based upon various assumptions, many of which are 
based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including 
without limitation, management's examination of 
historical operating trends, data contained in our 
records and other data available from third parties. 
Although we believe that these assumptions were 
reasonable when made, because these assumptions are 
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and 
contingencies which are difficult or impossible to 
predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure 
you that it will achieve or accomplish these 
expectations, beliefs or projections.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause 
actual results to differ materially from those 
discussed in the forward-looking statements include 
the strength of world economies and currencies, 
general market conditions, including changes in 
charterhire rates and vessel values, changes in demand 
that may affect attitudes of time charterers to 
scheduled and unscheduled dry-docking, changes in our 
operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-
docking and insurance costs, or actions taken by 
regulatory authorities, potential liability from 
pending or future litigation, domestic and 
international political conditions, potential 
disruption of shipping routes due to accidents and 
political events or acts by terrorists.

Risks and uncertainties are further described in 
reports filed by Ocean Rig UDW Inc. with the US 
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Relations / Media:

Nicolas Bornozis
Capital Link, Inc. (New York)
Tel. 212-661-7566
E-mail: oceanrig@capitallink.
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OCEAN RIG UDW INC. REPORTS FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2012