NABORS OFFSHORE

Hornbeck to Acquire Sea Mar Fleet From Nabors

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with certain affiliates of Nabors Industries Ltd. to acquire 20 offshore supply vessels and their related business for cash consideration of $186m, plus the cost of any fuel inventory on such vessels. The Sea Mar Fleet is comprised of ten 200 class DP-1 new generation OSVs and ten conventional OSVs. The Company has also agreed to purchase one 285-foot DP-2 new generation OSV currently under construction at a domestic shipyard with an anticipated fourth quarter 2008 delivery. The expected cost of this newbuild vessel, prior to allocation of construction period interest, is approximately $34.0 million, of which about $7.3 million will be paid to Nabors at closing. All of the vessels to be acquired by Hornbeck Offshore are U.S. flagged and qualify for U.S. coastwise trade under the Jones Act except for one of the conventional vessels, which is foreign-flagged. In addition, under a separate agreement and effective upon closing, Hornbeck Offshore will manage five Nabors-owned Mexican flagged vessels currently operating offshore Mexico. The Sea Mar acquisition will be funded with cash on-hand and is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings. Cash utilized for this transaction will not alter the Company's plans to fund its previously announced newbuild and conversion programs from remaining cash on-hand and

Nabors Reports Higher-Than-Expected Earnings

Nabors Industries Inc. on Thursday reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, propelled by a surge in demand for its drilling rig fleet and services. The Houston-based driller earned $.51 per diluted share on a quarterly record operating income of $124 million, compared with $.12 a share on $33.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call had estimated first-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share.

Six Tee Marine and Offshore Select Intergraph

Six Tee Engineering Groups has adopted Intergraph SmartMarine 3D software. The Singapore and China-based company specializes in the basic and detail design and project management of marine and offshore structures. Six Tee selected SmartMarine 3D to increase productivity and quality for its work in the basic and detail design and project management of marine and offshore structures. Six Tee projects include floating production

ABS Nautical Systems Expands in the Middle East

ABS Nautical Systems has signed a contract with Arina Offshore (Fze) for use of its NS5 Enterprise software, marking the fourth new customer win in this region. The Dubai based company which specializes in vessel chartering and brokerage will utilize the Maintenance Manager module on one of its offshore vessels through the ABS Transfer of Class Agreement (TOCA) Initiative*. The TOCA Initiative offers free software to any vessel that transfers class into ABS.

NOSAC Meeting Scheduled for February 3

The National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee (NOSAC), sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, will conduct a teleconference meeting on February 3. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the formation of a subcommittee on application of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention to various types of offshore support vessels working in foreign locations. 70 Fed. Reg. 3051 Source: HK Law

Ampelmann on Jumbo Javelin

One of Jumbo Offshore’s heavy lift & installation vessels, the DP2-ship Jumbo Javelin, is preparing to deliver installation services for offshore wind farms. It will be able to ship and install Transition Pieces (TP’s) for wind turbines. The vessel will be able to carry nine TP’s at a time, each with a weight of approx. 285 tonnes. All the TP’s can be stowed vertically in the hold of the vessel and transported to the offshore location site

Gulf Of Mexico Rig Count Increases

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore rig count continues to rebound, according to Offshore Data Services' weekly mobile offshore rig count. This week, 149 of the 191 mobile offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. Gulf are under contract, a four-rig increase over last week's week count and a seven-rig increase on a month-to-month basis. U.S. Gulf rig fleet utilization this week is 78.0 percent. The European offshore rig count continues to decline

Offshore Rig Count

Wolrdwide Offshore Rig Counts Continue To Rise Offshore rig counts continue to rise, according to Offshore Data Services' weekly mobile offshore rig count. The U.S. Gulf's offshore rig utilization rate jumped over 80 percent for the first time since late 1998 due to a net five-rig increase in contracted rigs in the region. This week, 161 of 199 rigs are under contract in the region. U.S. Gulf mobile offshore rig utilization is 81.0 percent.

Keppel AmFELS to Deliver Scorpion Jackup

Keppel AmFELS Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), is on course to a timely delivery of Scorpion Offshore Ltd.’s first jackup drilling rig at the end of May 2007. The ultra premium drilling rig, Offshore Courageous, is the first of five jackups that Keppel AmFELS is constructing for Scorpion Offshore. The other four rigs are Offshore Defender, Offshore Resolute, Offshore Vigilant and Offshore Intrepid.

Gulf Of Mexico Rig Count Declines

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico rig count declined for the first time in four weeks, according to Offshore Data Services' weekly mobile offshore rig count. This week, 149 of the 191 rigs deployed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico are under contract, two less than were under contract last week. U.S. Gulf offshore rig utilization now stands at 78.0 percent. The European offshore rig count declined by one rig, the result of a contracted rig moving out of the area