R&B Falcon Corporation has confirmed a three-year drilling contract with Texaco for its newbuild 10,000-ft. water depth dynamically positioned drillship Deepwater IV, as a substitute for previously contracted Peregrine VIII. Texaco expects to begin a drilling program offshore West Africa shortly after the vessel's delivery, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2000. Steve Webster, R&B Falcon's president and CEO, stated, "We are pleased to work with Texaco on its ultra-deepwater drilling program. This contract commitment, recently following the commitment by another deepwater operator for our 5th generation ultra-deepwater semisubmersible RBS8-D, reaffirms our view of the relative strength of the deepwater sector of the offshore drilling industry.