National Oilwell Varco to supply drilling equipment for new Transocean ship

Offshore staff

(Houston) -- National Oilwell Varco Inc. will provide a package of drilling equipment for a drillship to be constructed in Korea.

National Oilwell Varco L.P. contracted with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., which will fabricate the vessel for a subsidiary of Transocean Inc. The drillship is expected to be delivered in 2009.

"We are very pleased that Transocean and Daewoo have selected our equipment and technology for this highly advanced drillship," said Pete Miller, chairman, president and CEO of National Oilwell Varco.

"The equipment package we will be providing under this contract is almost identical to the package we agreed to provide Transocean and Daewoo under a separate contract entered into during the second quarter of this year for the drillshipDiscoverer Clear Leader, which is also expected to be delivered in 2009. These two packages have a combined value of approximately $280 million."

7/14/06