News Releases

Houston, February 1, 2013 – Independence Contract Drilling is pleased to announce that Mr. Ed Jacob III has joined as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Both Contract Drilling and Manufacturing operations will report directly to Mr. Jacob.

Mr. Jacob most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Keen Energy, until its sale in late 2012. Prior to Keen, Mr. Jacob had a distinguished career at Grey Wolf, Inc. a contract drilling company, serving as Senior Vice President of Operations, responsible for the safe operation of 124 drilling rigs with over 3,000 employees. Grey Wolf Inc. drilling reported close to $1 billion in revenue during 2008 with record setting safety, utilization, day rates and profitability. Mr. Jacob left Grey Wolf when Precision Drilling Company acquired it in December 2008 for $1.6 Billion.

Prior to Grey Wolf, Mr. Jacob was Executive Vice President of Bayard Drilling Technologies, Inc., operating 88 land rigs in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. Prior to joining Bayard, Mr. Jacob served in various sales, marketing and operations management positions with Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co.

Mr. Jacob attended Southeastern Louisiana University and Nichols State University and is a 2007 graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He is a member of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Association of Drilling Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute. He is a Director of the IADC and is serving his second term on the IADC’s Executive Committee. Mr. Jacob has also received the IADC’s Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Jacob has also served on the API Executive Committee for Drilling and Production Operations.

Byron Dunn, President and Chief Executive officer of Independence said, “I have known and worked with Ed for years and cannot think of another leader so uniquely qualified to add immediate value to our team.”
Tom Bates, Chairman of the Board of Independence, also commented, "The Independence Board joins me in welcoming Ed to our team. Ed’s extraordinarily successful contract drilling career, his insights, leadership and managerial skills will provide valuable guidance as we continue to aggressively grow Independence and move forward in our plans to become a publicly traded company."

About Independence Contract Drilling
Independence Contract Drilling was formed in 2011 as a vertically integrated premium land drilling services provider. From its wholly owned API certified manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, Independence Contract Drilling provides E&P operators the ShaleDriller™ series rigs. These rigs are fast moving, programmable AC rigs custom designed to be best in class for the development of shale plays and other areas where completions require long horizontal sections.

Media Contact
Philip Choyce
(281) 598-1230