Rowan Companies, Inc. announces all six Gorilla Class rigs are now under contract -- Gorillas II, III, IV and VI are operating on well-to-well contracts in the Gulf of Mexico and Gorillas V and VII should commence operation in eastern Canada and the North Sea early in the
third quarter.
Bob Palmer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "All 24 Rowan offshore rigs are now under contract -- for the first time in over one year. We view this as a very positive event, greatly reducing, for the moment, an uncertain outlook. We are particularly encouraged by the fact that about one- half of our Gulf of Mexico rigs are on deep Miocene prospects with well depths in the range of 15,000 to 22,000 feet. However, there is no question that our markets are in transition -- either dayrates will continue to go up or utilization will begin to go down. Stay tuned."