Mr. Kjell E Jacobsen has served notice that he would like to retire from the Board of Seadrill Limited effective from December 31, 2010.

Mr. Jacobsen started to work for offshore drilling company Smedvig in 1991 and was the Company's CEO from end of 2001 to 2006. In 2006, Mr. Jacobsen was instrumental in order to facilitate the successful integration between Seadrill Limited and Smedvig asa and became CEO of Seadrill Management AS. He retired as CEO of Seadrill Management AS in 2008, but remained a highly valuable Board member. Mr. Jacobsen is currently a partner in the energy focused private equity group Energy Ventures.

Chairman John Fredriksen commented, "We want to thank Kjell E Jacobsen for his solid contribution to the Seadrill story. He developed in his former position as CEO a truly professional and highly competent organization with focus on meeting clients' requirements. He has in his later role as director been a very competent Board member with his in-depth knowledge of the drilling industry."

The Board wishes Kjell E Jacobsen all success in his future ventures.

The Board has nominated Mr. Carl Erik Steen to fill the vacancy on the Board created by the retirement of Kjell E Jacobsen. Mr. Steen is currently Head of Shipping, Oil Service and International Business in largest Nordic bank, Nordea. Mr. Steen will take up his directorship in February 2011 after retiring from his current position in Nordea. Mr. Steen, who is graduated as M.sc in Industrial Management Engineering from ETH in Zurich, is 59 years and resides in Oslo.

Chairman John Fredriksen said, "We are honored that Carl Erik Steen has accepted a directorship in Seadrill. Mr. Steen is well familiar with our Company and has extensive knowledge about the offshore industry in general. We are convinced that Mr. Steen will be a valuable addition to our Board.

Tags: Seadrill