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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sharp_End_Of_Drill who wrote (74781)	9/27/2000 10:42:12 AM
From: isopatch	Respond to of 95453

Sharp. Are they drilling any wells for ESNJ? HP & OEI are ptnrs > On some of ESNJ's major prospects. On quite a few of those nice onshore GOM NG trends from south Texas to Louisiana. Lot of their 3-D shoots have zeroed in on deep horizons and will need 15,000' plus capability rigs to dill em. Isopatch

To: Sharp_End_Of_Drill who wrote (74781)	9/27/2000 11:35:01 AM
From: Winkman777	Respond to of 95453

PDE's rig buy? Paid too much, especially in shares and warrants? TIA, Sharp. IMHO you are one of our best contributors. moneycentral.msn.com Pride International to Acquire Three Offshore Drilling Rigs September 27, 2000 11:17 AM Eastern Time HOUSTON, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Pride International, Inc. PDE announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire two additional semisubmersible drilling rigs, both of which are currently located in the North Sea. The two rigs are a second generation AKER H-3, and a third generation F&G Enhanced Pacesetter. The second generation rig is presently idle, while the third generation unit is under charter to an affiliate of Transocean Sedco Forex through September 2001. Additionally, the Company has agreed to acquire a 250-foot water depth jackup rig, which it has been operating for the past year pursuant to a bareboat charter agreement. The jackup is an independent leg, cantilevered model which was rebuilt in 1998 and returned to service in 1999. Pride currently operates the rig offshore Bangladesh. Pride has agreed to pay (a) $42 million in cash, (b) $75 million in shares of its common stock and (c) 400,000 stock purchase warrants to acquire the semisubmersible rigs. The Company will pay approximately $22 million in cash for the jackup rig. The transactions are expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2000, subject to completion of definitive purchase documents. Paul A. Bragg, President and CEO of Pride, stated, "We are pleased to acquire these three rigs at what we believe are attractive prices. While the market for mid-water depth semisubmersibles has yet to recover as significantly as other offshore drilling segments, we believe that this investment will provide us substantial leverage to improving dayrates when such a recovery occurs. The remaining charter period of about one year on the third generation rig will provide us with some immediate cash flow, as well. The two semisubmersible rigs are the same designs as our existing two mid- water depth units, and accordingly, are highly compatible with our existing fleet." "The jackup rig was substantially rebuilt and re-equipped just two years ago and we have had excellent operating performance from it. The owner, an exploration and production company, decided to divest the rig, and we are pleased to acquire it. The market for jackup rigs continues to improve, and we are confident that we will have the opportunity to produce a very favorable return on this investment." Pride International, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of the world's largest drilling contractors. The Company provides onshore and offshore drilling, workover and related services in more than 20 countries, operating a diverse fleet of 294 rigs, including 2 ultra-deepwater drillships, 3 semisubmersible rigs, 19 jackup rigs, 5 tender-assisted rigs, 3 barge rigs, 21 offshore platform rigs and 241 land rigs. SOURCE Pride International, Inc.