Offshore staff

COVINGTON, Louisiana -- Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. has a definitive asset purchase agreement with affiliates of Nabors Industries Ltd. to acquire 20 offshore supply vessels (OSVs) and their related business, the Sea Mar fleet. The Sea Mar fleet comprises 10 200-class DP-1 new generation OSVs and 10 conventional OSVs.

Hornbeck also has agreed to purchase one 285-foot DP-2 new generation OSV currently under construction at a domestic shipyard with an anticipated 4Q 2008 delivery. The expected cost of this newbuild vessel is approximately $34 million, of which about $7.3 million will be paid to Nabors at closing.

All the vessels except one conventional OSV are US flagged and qualify for US coastwise trade under the Jones Act.

Under a separate agreement effective upon closing, Hornbeck Offshore will manage five Nabors-owned Mexican flagged vessels operating offshore Mexico.

Closing, which is subject to customary conditions, including third party consents and regulatory approvals, is expected in early Aug. 2007.

"We are very excited about not only acquiring a well regarded fleet of new generation OSVs, but also the opportunity to attract Sea Mar's highly respected mariners and its shoreside management and support staff to become part of the Hornbeck Offshore team," says Todd Hornbeck, the company's chairman, president and CEO. "Sea Mar has an outstanding reputation for quality and safety, and we believe that its operational culture is very similar to our own."

7/25/2007

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