Diamond Offshore Announces Contract Termination.HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 1998--Diamond Offshore Drilling Offshore drilling typically refers to the act of extracting resources, primarily oil, in an ocean or lake. Controversy As with all oil drilling, there has been a certain level of controversy surrounding the issue. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :DO) (the "Company") announced that BP Exploration ("BPX BPX Business Process Expert BPX Business Process eXcellence (Delphi Group event) BPX Burning Plasma Experiment BPX British Petroleum Exploration BPX Broadband Packet Exchange BPX Bus Parcel Express (Canada) "), a division of British Petroleum, PLC, and the Company have agreed to terminate the drilling contract for use of the Company's drillship, "Ocean Clipper clipper, type of sailing ship, designed for speed. Long and narrow, the clipper had the greatest beam aft of the center; the bow cleaved the waves; and the ship carried, besides topgallant and royal sails, skysails and moonrakers—a veritable cloud of sails. ." Termination was associated with performance failures in the blow-out-preventer (BOP) control system. The "Ocean Clipper" will be moved dockside for replacement of the BOP control system and installation of additional upgrades which are scheduled to be completed during the second quarter of 1999, at which time the drillship will be returned to the Company's fleet and available for deep water drilling operations. The Company and BPX expect to continue with their long-standing business relationship which presently includes drilling contracts for the "Ocean Confidence" and the "Ocean America." The "Ocean Confidence" is currently in a Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east shipyard undergoing conversion from an accommodation vessel to a 7,500' capable semisubmersible sem·i·sub·mers·i·ble n. A seagoing, self-propelled barge that rides at anchor, stands on partially submerged vertical legs on submerged pontoons, and serves as living quarters and a base of operations in offshore drilling. . The "Ocean America," a fourth-generation semisubmersible, is currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico. Diamond Offshore is a leader in deep water drilling. The Company's fleet of 46 offshore drilling rigs consists of 30 semisubmersibles, 15 jack-ups and one drillship. The fleet operates in the waters of six of the world's seven continents. When included herein, the words "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," and analogous expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. . Such statements, as well as any other forward-looking statements, inherently are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic and business conditions, industry fleet capacity, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations, customer preferences and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control. |
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