BUSINESS BRIEFS

Representatives of various Houston engineering organizations have selectedJames Pappas, P.E. as the 2007 Houston Area Engineer of the Year. The selection of Pappas is a result of his record of service to his profession, contributions to numerous technical and professional societies, and long-standing involvement in civic and humanitarian activities. Pappas will be honored during the nationwide celebration of Engineers’ Week on Friday, Feb. 23, 2007.

Hughes Inc. has appointedDidier Charreton VP of human resources. Charreton is expected to assume his duties by March 1, 2007. He replaces Greg Nakanishi, who is retired effective Jan. 2, 2007.

Wood Group ESP has appointedFrank Claborn as region manager, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Claborn will manage operations for the company’s electric submersible pumping systems products and services.

Rowan Companies Inc. has made the following management title changes, effective Jan. 1, 2007.John Buvens is now executive VP, legal. Mark Keller is executive VP, business development. David Russell is executive VP, drilling operations. William Wells is VP, finance and CFO. Melanie Trent is corporate secretary and special assistant to the CEO. Each reports to CEO Daniel McNease. Together, they comprise Rowan’s executive leadership team. On Dec. 31, 2006, Robert Croyle, Rowan’s vice chairman and chief administrative officer, retired after more than 33 years of service.

Sub-Atlantic Ltd. has appointedJohn Ferguson as production manager to coordinate the manufacturing of the company’s full product range.

Weatherford International Ltd. has appointedE. Lee Colley as COO. In the newly created post, Colley will be responsible for the company’s global operations.

PSL Energy Services Ltd. has appointedCharlie Topp as regional manager for the Middle East. Topp will lead the company’s strategic growth in the Middle East and oversee a number of business opportunities that PSL is pursuing in the region.

David Singleton, managing director and CEO of Clough Ltd., has resigned effective immediately and John Cooper has been appointed the new CEO.

Braemar Seascope Group Plc. has appointedQuentin Soanes and Denis Petropoulos as executive directors. Petropoulos is responsible for Braemar’s tanker chartering activities, encompassing deep-sea crude and clean product, gas, chemicals, and specialized tanker chartering. He also becomes joint managing director of Braemar Seascope Ltd., the company’s principal shipbroking subsidiary. Soanes is responsible for business development. He also is chairman of the wholly-owned subsidiaries, Cory Brothers Shipping Agency Ltd. and DV Howells Ltd. He is joint managing director of Braemar Seascope Ltd. Braemar also has made appointments in its shipbroking division with Sebastian Davenport-Thomas becoming head of sale and purchase, and Chris Batt the head of chemical chartering.

Advantica has appointedPaul Shrieve executive director, UK and Europe. Shrieve’s role will include business development, sales, and project delivery. He will be based at both Advantica’s Aberdeen office and Loughborough headquarters.

Philippe Boisseau was appointed president of Total’s gas and power business. He succeeds Yves-Louis Darricarrère, who has been appointed president of exploration and production. Ladislas Paszkiewicz will succeed Boisseau as president, Middle East. Both appointments are effective in February, when Christophe de Margerie takes over as CEO.

Pride International Inc. has appointedJeffrey Chastain to the position of VP, investor relations.

Tony Hayward, currently BP’s head of exploration and production, will succeed Lord John Browne following his retirement as group chief executive.

Companies

3i has agreed on the buyout of Dockwise Transport N.V., the Dutch heavy transportation company based in Breda, the Netherlands, from Heerema Group and Norwegian maritime Wilhelmsen Group. The deal is valued at over $700 million.

AGR EmiTeam AS, part of the Norway-based AGR oil technology and services group, has acquired Safe Control NDT AB of Sweden in a deal worth $785,000. Safe Control was 100% owned by Lars Carlsson, chief executive. Carlsson will remain with the enlarged group, responsible for managing the Swedish operation, which will be renamed AGR EmiTeam AB.

Weatherford International Ltd. is merging its evaluation, drilling, and intervention division with its completion and production systems division to form one operating group. The merger will facilitate the company’s growth plans over the next several years, Weatherford says, improving the company’s ability to meet clients’ objectives. The move also aims to improve the organization’s transparency with clients in geographic markets, the company says.

A private equity syndicate comprisingCandover, 3i, and JPMorgan Partners have sold Vetco Gray to GE’s Oil & Gas division for $1.9 billion on a debt-free, cash-free basis. Completion of the deal is expected in February 2007. The sale of Vetco Gray, and the spin out of Vetco Aibel, marks a partial exit from Vetco International for the syndicate, which acquired the business in July 2004 from ABB Oil & Gas.

Atkins has acquired Boreas Consultants Ltd. for $7.4 million. Boreas specializes in subsea engineering of oil and gas facilities from offices in Aberdeen, Cranfield, Newcastle, and Weybridge. “Boreas has an outstanding reputation in subsea engineering and we are delighted to welcome the team on board,” says Martin Grant, managing director of Atkins. “They will play a vital part in broadening our technology footprint and in aiding our international expansion plans.”

Fairwinds International has assumed all responsibility for the current US-based projects for Pheco. Fairwinds hired the key project staff effective Oct. 4, 2006.

AGR Group has agreed to acquire Upstream Petroleum Pty Ltd., the Australian-based provider of development and production services to the upstream oil and gas industry, for $66.4 million. Upstream will continue to operate under its own name, although on completion of the transaction it will be called AGR Upstream Petroleum.

Aker Kvaerner has signed a letter of intent with Aker Floating Production to deliver a complete subsea production system for a customer in India. Aker Kvaerner also will deliver the marine installation equipment for the FPSO to be leased out by Aker Floating Production ASA. The total value of Aker Kvaerner’s contracts is approximately $250 million. Aker Kvaerner is scheduled to install the FPSO and mooring system and to deliver the subsea production system by February 2008. The subsea production system will be installed at 1,100-1,400 m (3,609-4,593 ft) water depth and includes trees, manifolds, controls, and umbilicals. Aker Kvaerner Subsea will supply the subsea equipment and Aker Marine Contractors will be responsible for installing the FPSO and subsea equipment. Aker Kvaerner Pusnes will deliver equipment for the mooring and offloading system.

Atlantia Offshore Ltd. has awarded Aker Kvaerner a contract to install a semisubmersible floating production unit for the Thunder Hawk development in the Gulf of Mexico. Atlantia will be the client and owner of the FPU, and Murphy Exploration and Production Co. will operate the platform. The contract value for Aker Kvaerner is $23 million. Aker Kvaerner subsidiary Aker Marine Contractors will install the spread mooring system, and provide FPU transportation and hook-up. The marine installation is planned for 2Q 2008 using the offshore construction vessel, BOA Sub C. The Thunder Hawk facility, which will be based on Atlantia’s deep draft semi, will moor in 1,800 m (5,905 ft) water depth and will be equipped to produce up to 60,000 b/d of oil and 70 MMcf/d of gas.

Norway’sRoxar AS and Nigeria’s Sonar Ltd. have formed a joint venture to meet the increasing demands in Nigeria and West Africa for reservoir management and optimization solutions. The JV will be called Roxar-SONAR. Under the terms of the joint venture, a service center has been set up in Lagos, Nigeria, to provide sales and local customer support. The center also will serve as a training center for Roxar’s software portfolio. The Lagos office will be a base for Roxar’s consultancy services.

WellDynamics Inc. has acquired Halliburton’s reservoir performance monitoring business. The RPM business consists of fiber optic systems, capillary tubing systems, and electronic systems. The acquisition is expected to expand WellDynamics intelligent completion technology.

SeaBird Exploration Ltd. has agreed to purchase GeoBird Management Middle East FZ Llc. for $2 million. GeoBird has conducted marine operations of the SeaBird vessels since 2003. The acquisition is effective immediately. Jan Eivind Fondal has been appointed president for SeaBird Exploration Dubai FZ Llc.

ExxonMobil has signed a long-term contract with Seadrill Ltd. for the ultra deepwater drillship West Polaris to carry out international exploration activities. The contract has a firm duration of three years, with an estimated value of $570 million. About one third of the contract duration will be used by other operators, primarily Ophir Energy. The West Polaris is under construction at the Samsung Shipyard in South Korea and is scheduled for delivery at the end of the 2Q 2008.

A Chevron Corp. subsidiary has awarded Transocean Inc. a three-year contract for the semisubmersibleTransocean Richardson to carry out exploration and appraisal drilling in Chevron areas that could include southern Africa. The three-year contract is expected to begin in July 2007, following the completion of an existing contract commitment offshore Angola. Revenues of $493 million are possible over the contract, excluding a performance bonus opportunity of up to 10% of the contractual operating day rate. The Transocean Richardson is one of the company’s high-specification floaters. The semi, which entered service in 1988, is capable of operating in water depths to 1,524 m (5,000 ft).

InterMoor Inc. is building a new 22-acre facility and expanding its services at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The new facility will include more than 111 m (1,200 ft) of bulkhead waterfront dock space, three heavy-lift cranes, a warehouse, office, training center, and living quarters. Construction is under way and is scheduled to be complete in November.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. has issued a letter of intent to MODEC Inc. for the charter and operation of an FPSO in Brazil’s Campos basin. MODEC says this is the third FPSO for the company to charter and operate for Petrobras. The project includes developing an FPSO capable of processing 100,000 b/d of oil, with gas compression capacity of 124 MMcf/d, and with 1.6 MMbbl oil storage capacity. Total contract revenues for the charter and FPSO operation, including option periods, could reach $1.2 billion. MODEC will convert a VLCC tanker to meet FPSO specifications. The vessel is expected to start production in 4Q 2008. The operational life of the FPSO is nine years with six additional one-year options. The company is responsible for engineering, procuring, constructing, installing, commissioning, and operating the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment, hull and marine systems, riser hang-offs, and the SOFEC spread-mooring system.

BT has signed a three-year managed services agreement with Methanex. As part of the agreement, valued at $2.3 million, BT will provide and manage an integrated portfolio of the following services: BT Infonet IP VPN Secure (IVS), IP VPN Internet (IVI), and BT Infonet Global Connect Service. As a global enterprise, Methanex has manufacturing, marketing and supply chain capabilities in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Caribbean, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement includes BT providing services for all Methanex’s locations.

Superior Energy Services Inc. has acquired Duffy & McGovern Accommodation Services for $47 million.

As a result, Duffy & McGovern will be investing $15 million to accelerate its fleet growth. The company will be building 100 new offshore accommodation modules over the next six months and is stepping up its presence in Southeast Asia.

Superior intends to retain the name and independence of Duffy & McGovern, except in the US where the company will now operate under the name ofHB Rentals.

Superior Energy has acquired Warrior Energy Services Corp., a natural gas and oil well services company, as well.

Under the agreement, Superior has acquired Houston-based Warrior for $175 million in cash and 5.3 million shares of common stock.

EnCore Oil Plc has completed the acquisition of four oil and gas companies: Virgo Oil & Gas Plc, Virgo Energy Ltd., Nido Petroleum Ltd., and Grove Energy Ltd.

The acquisition of the four companies adds a number of UK licensed blocks and part blocks in the north, central, and southern North Sea to EnCore’s existing offshore UK portfolio.

Bluewater Energy Services BV is setting up an office in Kuala Lumpur and joins a growing number of international technology providers and service companies for the deepwater projects.

Bluewater has already provided a single point mooring system for an FPSO being readied for the Abu Cluster field offshore Malaysia and is bidding to supply a second single point mooring system for another FPSO project. The FPSO is to operate in the Bunga Orkid field. Both FPSOs are owned and operated byMISC Bhd. of Malaysia.

J. Ray McDermott S.A. has landed two offshore engineering and construction projects, one in Russia and one in India.

In India, McDermott will supply and install in the KG-D6 field a 12,000 metric ton (13,228 ton) control riser platform. From first steel cut to project completion is expected to take 18 months, with hook-up and pre-commissioning by the end of 1Q 2008.

The company’s Morgan City (Louisiana) facility will handle the fabrication of the jacket weighing approximately 7,500 metric tons (8,267 tons), while the 4,700-metric ton (5,181-ton) topside plus 4,500 metric tons (4,960 tons) of piles and appurtenances will be built at Jebel Ali.

In the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea,Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft Llc has awarded McDermott a subsea pipeline installation contract.

McDermott will install a 58 km (36 mi), 305 mm (12 in.) oil pipeline which will connect the ice-resistant fixed platform No.1 (LSP-1) to a single point mooring buoy south of the Yuri Korchagin field. The field is 180 km (112 mi) outside Astrakhan in the Caspian Sea.

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