J. Ray McDermott Wins Barge Job

J. Ray McDermott ("J. Ray"), a subsidiary of McDermott International Inc. ("McDermott"), announced that it has been awarded a contract by Coastal Drilling Company, LLC to fabricate a drilling barge at J. Ray’s Morgan City, Louisiana facility.

Coastal Drilling’s Rig #22, a 3,000 HP posted barge rig with dimensions of 250’ x 70’ x 18’ will be constructed in one of J. Ray’s onsite fabrication buildings. J. Ray will have upwards of 100 employees engaged to complete the barge work during the third and fourth quarter of 2005. The drill barge is scheduled to sail by January 2006.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and capabilities on this job. We have been working to decrease our cost basis to enable us to move beyond our traditional market and have met with success.” said J. Ray’s General Manager Steve Becnel.

J. Ray’s Morgan City Fabrication facility was established in 1956 and for over five decades has been the construction site for some of the offshore industry’s most significant projects. Continuous improvements and investments in infrastructure, along with a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, have enabled the facility to competitively and safely produce quality structures for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Coastal Drilling Company is a privately held drilling company that provides day work, drilling contracts and inland barge drilling for the South Texas and Gulf Coast markets. Coastal’s fleet includes state-of-the-art drilling equipment.