Rowan, El Paso and Canadian Superior Announce Contracting of Rowan Gorilla V

Rowan Companies, Inc., El Paso Oil & Gas Canada, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of El Paso Corporation, and Canadian Superior Energy Inc. announced the contracting of the Rowan Gorilla V for the initial drilling of El Paso's and Canadian Superior's Marquis Natural Gas Project Offshore Nova Scotia. Bob Palmer, Rowan's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer announced the contract in Houston today and commenting on the contract said, "We are very pleased to announce our new contract for Gorilla V and the Marquis Project and we are especially pleased to continue our 20+ years of operations offshore Eastern Canada and we look forward to this new opportunity to expand our customer base offshore Nova Scotia." "The Rowan Gorilla V is one of the largest jack-up drilling rigs operating in the world and in association with Canadian Superior, we are very pleased to see this contract awarded to Rowan," said Harvey Klingensmith, President of El Paso Canada. The Gorilla V is the first of a series of Super Gorilla class jack-ups capable of drilling and producing simultaneously in water depths up to 400 feet in harsh environments like offshore Eastern Canada. The Gorilla V features a derrick with a total combined drilling capacity of 3.5 million pounds, 16,975 of prime mover horsepower, 8,800 of mud pump horsepower and a total drilling load capacity of 16.25 million pounds. In commenting on awarding of the contract to Rowan, Canadian Superior's President Greg Noval, speaking from Canadian Superior's office in Halifax, said today, "The Rowan Group brings a wealth of East Coast service and supply experience to our Marquis Project, and subject to regulatory approval, we are looking forward to begin drilling on the Marquis Project with the Gorilla V over the next 6 to 8 weeks." El Paso's and Canadian Superior's Marquis Project is located approximately 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) northwest of Sable Island and is directly on trend with, and analogous to, the recent Deep Panuke Abenaki reef natural gas discovery. Deep Panuke is approximately 25 kilometers (15.6 miles) to the southwest of the Marquis Project and has successfully tested several delineation wells, each with productive capacity in excess of 50 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d). The Deep Panuke discovery production rate is expected to be in excess of 400 mmcf/d when it is brought on line. The first Marquis well will be drilled to a minimum depth of 4,300 meters (14,100 feet) TVD or, a depth sufficient to test the main deep Abenaki reef section.