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

To: Captain James T. Kirk who wrote (43268)	4/26/1999 2:20:00 PM
From: Ditchdigger	Respond to of 95453

FLC news.Frontier has arrived in New Zealand..DD WORLD'S SECOND ULTRA-DEEPWATER DRILLSHIP SAILS TO NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- After a month-long, 5, 661-mile journey from South Korea, the Deepwater Frontier arrived at its destination offshore New Zealand, on April 23. With its on-board dynamic positioning capability, the ship was able to verify position and will begin drilling operations within the first few days of its arrival. (www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990426/DAM007) The ship is owned by Deepwater Drilling II LLC -- a joint partnership between Conoco (NYSE: COC) and R&B Falcon Corporation (NYSE: FLC). It is the world's second ultra-deepwater drillship capable of drilling in 10,000 feet of water. The Frontier's sister ship -- the Deepwater Pathfinder -- was the first out of the shipyard, and is presently drilling in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The Frontier, powered by six 5,300-horsepower thrusters, reached a top speed of 13 knots during its sail to New Zealand. "It's ability to sail to location in a timely and fuel-efficient manner makes the Frontier a valuable asset in this cost-cutting environment," said Brett Borland, operations manager for Deepwater Drilling II LLC. On March 21, the ship left Koje Island, South Korea -- where it was built by Samsung Heavy Industries. In Singapore it was loaded with 10, 000 tons of supplies and a full crew. Borland said the Frontier was loaded in excellent time -- five days -- with enough supplies to drill the well to completion and enough food to feed 120 people for a month. "The variable deck load is the largest ever carried on a mobile offshore drilling unit," he said. The vessel arrived in New Zealand only 20 days after leaving Singapore. During the voyage and initial start-up period, various specialists worked onboard the Frontier. These specialists represented a multitude of countries including the United States, Norway, Spain, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. The cook's menus included everything from steak to curry chicken to ox tail stew. Once on location, more New Zealanders joined the crew -- raising the percentage to more than one-third. "I've been extremely impressed with the level of enthusiasm and skill exhibited by the New Zealand crew members. Their experience working offshore in the rugged New Zealand environment will definitely be a benefit to the project," Borland said. The Frontier, under contract to Conoco, is expected to remain in New Zealand waters for about 60 days. Conoco is a major, integrated energy company based in Houston and active in 40 countries. SOURCE Conoco Inc. -0- 04/26/99 /CONTACT: Lee Scurry of Conoco Inc., 281-293-4290/ /Photo: newscom.com newscom.com or NewsCom, 213-237-5431 and AP Photo Archive, photoarchive.ap.org /Web site: conoco.com (COC FLC) CO: Conoco Inc.; Deepwater Drilling II LLC; R&B Falcon Corporation; Samsung Heavy Industries ST: Texas IN: OIL SU: