Ocean Rig UDW Inc. Announces the Results of Its 2017 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS--(Marketwired - Apr 24, 2017) - Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG) (the "Company" or "Ocean Rig"), a global provider of offshore deepwater drilling services, announced today the results of its 2017 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting").

The following proposals were approved and adopted at the Meeting:

1. the election of Mr. George Economou and Mr. Michael Pearson to serve as Class A Directors until the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders of the Company;

2. the approval of the appointment of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A., as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017;

3. the increase in the Company's authorized share capital of one billion (1,000,000,000) common shares of a par value of US$0.01 each and five hundred million (500,000,000) preferred shares of a par value of US$0.01 each to one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) common shares of a par value of US $0.01 each and five hundred million (500,000,000) preferred shares of a par value of US$0.01 each; and

4. the approval to allow the board of directors (the "Board") to effect one or more reverse stock splits of the Company's issued common shares at a ratio of not less than one-for-two and not more than one-for-100,000, with the exact ratio to be set at a whole number within this range to be determined by the Board, or any duly constituted committee thereof, at any time after approval by the shareholders, and to authorize the Board to implement any such reverse stock split at its discretion.

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.

Ocean Rig's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market where it trades under the symbol "ORIG."

Our registered office is c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Visit the Company's website at www.ocean-rig.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with such safe harbor legislation.