Foraco awarded large drilling services contract in Russia
TORONTO, ON/MARSEILLES, France, Jan. 28 /CNW/ - Foraco International SA (TSX: FAR) (the "Company" or "Foraco"), a leading global provider of diversified drilling services, today announced that it has secured a drilling services contract with OAO Arkhangelskoe Geologodobychnoe Predpriyatie ("AGD"), a Russian open joint stock company involved in diamond exploration and a wholly-owned subsidiary of OAO LUKOIL. Under terms of the contract, Foraco will perform large diameter drilling and bulk sampling for diamonds at AGD's Grib site in the Arkhangelsk region in northwestern Russia. The one-year contract is valued at approximately (euro) 10.0 million or $C16.0 million.
"We are delighted to expand our operations into Russia and look forward to working with AGD in bulk sampling the Grib site. Foraco has significantly increased its expertise in this specialized drilling technique through our recent acquisition of Northwest Sequoia Drilling and its excellent customer references in diamond bulk sampling projects in Northern Canada," said Daniel Simoncini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Foraco. "The large diameter drilling skills and assets of Foraco's European division combined with Sequoia's unique expertise were key factors in securing this contract with AGD."
About Foraco
Foraco (TSX: FAR) is a worldwide drilling service provider headquartered in Marseille, France. The Company provides a diverse range of drilling services to the minerals, energy, water, environmental and infrastructure sectors. The Company currently operates 117 drilling rigs, with a presence in 18 countries across five continents. For more information about Foraco, visit www.foraco.com.
Caution concerning forward-looking statements
This document may contain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements and information include estimates, forecasts, information and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the future financial or operating performance of the Company and capital and operating expenditures. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "should", "plans", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "budget", and "scheduled" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2008, which is filed with Canadian regulators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements and information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All written and oral forward-looking statements and information attributable to Foraco or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.
%SEDAR: 00025480E