Houston-based driller Rowan Companies Inc. reported its third quarter offshore rig utilization rate was 94%, compared with 88% in the second quarter and 93% in 3Q02. Day rates increased 25% from the second quarter and were up 17% from the same period a year ago. Land rig utilization was 72% in the quarter, versus 76% in 3Q02. Chairman Bob Palmer said he was pleased that the company had returned to profitability after a net loss last year, but said the company was disappointed with its quarterly performance. “Unanticipated downtime in our Gulf of Mexico fleet hindered our drilling operations and our manufacturing and aviation financial results were less than we anticipated.” Longer term, however, Rowan expects its foreign drilling markets “will continue to attract competitive rigs, further tightening the Gulf of Mexico jack-up market. We are witnessing increasing opportunities abroad for our own harsh environment equipment. We expect that our average Gulf of Mexico jack-up day rates, which increased by 10% in the third quarter, will continue improving during the fourth quarter, and our fleet utilization will again increase. Of course, our optimism is based upon oil and natural gas prices sufficiently high enough to encourage exploration and development drilling by our customers.”

In a private placement, Dynegy Inc. has closed an announced $300 million offering of the aggregate principal amount of additional second priority senior secured notes, which were issued by subsidiary Dynegy Holdings Inc. Net proceeds from the offering, along with existing cash on hand, were used by the Houston-based company to repay $194 million in its remaining outstanding balance under a Term B loan; retire $170 million of a capital lease obligation associated with its CoGen Lyondell generation facility; and to pay some of the transaction fees and expenses.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.