East Syracuse NY March 5, 2007 - NATS, formerly the UK's National Air Traffic Services, has awarded Sensis Corporation a contract for Multistatic Dependent Surveillance (MDS) for Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) Surveillance in the North Sea. NATS provides air traffic services for helicopters supporting the oil and gas operations in the North Sea. Sensis MDS will enable surveillance and tracking of helicopter traffic to and from oil platforms from close to the helicopter deck up to 10,000 feet for 25,000 square miles of airspace off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.

"Aberdeen air traffic control handles more than 25,000 helicopter flights per year," said Graeme Henderson, manager of Surveillance and Display Systems for NATS. "A large part of the airspace is beyond radar coverage, and a state of the art solution is required to solve this problem. The use of Sensis MDS will enhance the safety and efficiency of helicopter operations in this harsh environment."

Sensis MDS will locate and identify helicopters using sensors placed on oil platforms in deep water in the North Sea. With precision equal to or better than traditional secondary surveillance radars, consistent surveillance performance regardless of weather conditions and the capability for higher update rates, Sensis MDS provides significant benefits.

"Multilateration has demonstrated that it is a less expensive yet more effective solution than traditional radar," said Marc Viggiano, president of Sensis Air Traffic Systems. "The system features a low-maintenance design along with the ability to present a clear surveillance picture in any environment. Further, it supports new and emerging technologies such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast."

Sensis is a leader in WAM surveillance, fielding the first commissioned multilateration system for WAM at Innsbruck, Austria. Sensis MDS is also being deployed for WAM in Tasmania, Australia, Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Maryland) and Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (California). Sensis' wide-area expertise has been demonstrated in a number of WAM evaluation programs, including the Helicopter In-Flight Tracking System program, which evaluated the effectiveness of WAM for tracking helicopter traffic to and from oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Aker Yards to build well intervention / construction vessels for Aker Oilfield Services

Oslo March 2, 2007 - Aker Yards has entered into a contract with Aker Oilfield Services to build four large well intervention / construction vessels, and an option for another two vessels. The Owner has a cancellation possibility for the two last fixed vessels. All vessels will be delivered from Aker Yards` sites in Norway. The value of the contract for the four vessels is approximately NOK 4 000 million. The contract is subject to financing.

The vessels are of Aker Yards design, type Aker OSCV 06 WI, developed for Aker Oilfield Services on basis of the OSCV 06 design, adapted for well intervention purposes. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for spring 2010, and the following vessels will be delivered with approximately six months interval. The vessels will be 157 meters long with a beam of 27 meters, and will be equipped with an active heave compensated crane, ROV, launching systems and a Derrick for well intervention purposes. The vessels will have DP Class 3 and Ice Class. The vessels will have a maximum speed of 18 knots, which is of significant importance for global operations in order to minimize mobilization time.

Establishment of Aker Oilfield Services

Oslo March 1, 2007 - Aker, Aker Kværner, Aker Yards and DOF Subsea have established Aker Oilfield Services Ltd. The initial ownership will be 75 per cent to the Aker companies, through the recently established Aker Innovation entity, and 25 per cent to DOF Subsea.

Aker Oilfield Services has been established to target the growing market for increased oil recovery services for subsea wells. The company will offer its customers subsea light well intervention services by means of both riserless and riser-based subsea well intervention systems.

Aker Oilfield Services will be a turnkey provider through having in-house access to the entire spectrum of hardware, software and personnel required to undertake subsea well intervention operations in water depths up to 2.500m. Aker Oilfield Services is also expected to introduce other value creating services based on technology being developed by Aker Kværner, hereunder light, medium and heavy well intervention techniques and light drilling technologies.

Additional services will be provided from Aker Oilfield Services' vessels in co-operation with DOF Subsea and includes cable / umbilical installation services, light subsea construction / maintenance and survey and inspection work.

The unfavorable development in the oil and gas reserves replacement ratio combined with the growing and aging installed base of subsea wells result in a strong growth in the subsea well intervention market going forward. The Partners are strongly committed to supporting Aker Oilfield Services in order to become a global market leader in this segment.

In relation to this, Aker Oilfield Services has signed a contract with Aker Yards for building four high specification well intervention vessels for delivery in 2010 and 2011 as well as two options. The contract is subject to financing. In addition, Aker Oilfield Services has entered into various agreements with Aker Kværner covering subsea and well intervention equipment and personnel, and with DOF Subsea for vessel management and a conditional contract for charter of a vessel commencing 2009.

Aker Oilfield Services will have a total funding requirement of around USD 1 billion, financed with a combination of senior bank loan (approx. 70 per cent), and new equity placed through a private placement (approx. 30 per cent).

The Initiators intend to subscribe for a substantial amount of the new shares offered in the private placement. The establishment and financing of Aker Oilfield Services is expected to be completed by mid March 2007.

Oslo March 2, 2007 - To further strengthen its offering and becoming more transparent to the market, Aker Kvaerner will optimize its operations by transforming its existing six business areas into five global business areas. By combining those specialized units which work within the same market segments better, the change results in increased capacity and a stronger offer of services and solutions to all market segments. It will also enable more effective use of the total resources. The change will support the company's stated objective for further profitable growth.

Each of the five business areas in the new structure will have global responsibility for the entire value chain, ranging from marketing and technology development through project execution to service and maintenance. The new structure will further leverage the operation, and enable Aker Kvaerner to provide total solutions for the customers.

"We are establishing a global business area model which is more customer oriented and will help us reaching our profitable growth objective in the years to come," says Martinus Brandal, President and CEO of Aker Kvaerner.

In the new structure, the five global business areas will be:

• Field Development (FD), headed by EVP Simen Lieungh
• Subsea, headed by EVP Raymond Carlsen
• Products & Technologies (P&T), headed by EVP Mads Andersen
• Maintenance, Modifications & Operations (MMO), headed by EVP Torleif Gram
• Process & Construction (P&C), headed by EVP Jarle Tautra

The Executive Management Team will from April 1 consist of President & CEO Martinus Brandal and EVP & CFO Bjorn Erik Naess, together with the five EVPs mentioned above.

Gary Mandel is leaving Aker Kvaerner after being nominated Vice Chairman of the Board of Aker American Shipping ASA, which is a listed company at the Oslo Stock Exchange and part of the Aker group of companies. Gary Mandel will also be Chairman, President & CEO of American Shipping Corporation, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Aker American Shipping. In his new position as Vice Chairman, Gary Mandel will report to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Leif Arne Langoy.

"Gary Mandel, together with his teams, has done an outstanding job for Aker Kvaerner for many years", says Mr. Brandal. "As an example of a leader with high performance with respect to HSE, financial results and driving our Values, both Aker Kvaerner and the wider Aker group need to continue to leverage from his leadership and management competence. I am pleased that Gary will continue to work with Aker in his new position. This is also an example of the career opportunities we have in within the Aker Group."

The new organization structure with five global business areas will be effective from April 1, 2007. For external financial reporting, Aker Kvaerner has already had a reporting based on presentation of five segments, but these external reporting segments differ from the new internal structure on some points.

Houston March 7, 2007 - Transocean Inc. today announced that its report of drilling rig status and contract information covering the company's offshore drilling fleet has been updated as of March 7, 2007.

Drilling rig status and contract information on Transocean Inc.'s offshore drilling fleet has been condensed into a report titled "Transocean Fleet Update," which is available through the company's Worldwide Web address at www.deepwater.com. The report can be accessed from the home page of the Web address by clicking on the Fleet Update Report link found in the tool bar.

Long Beach CA March 7, 2007 - Esperanza Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Tidelands Oil & Gas Corporation, today announced plans to file applications with state and federal agencies to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving facility 15 miles off the Port of Long Beach, California. The project, named Port Esperanza, will bring much needed natural gas to the Southern California marketplace. Esperanza plans to formally file its application in late 2007.

"When we announced our interest in building an LNG facility in April 2006, we indicated that we would pursue a project only if it could be sited, designed and operated in the safest, most environmentally responsible and economically viable manner possible," stated Jim Smith, president and CEO of Tidelands Oil & Gas Corporation.

"Based on a comprehensive study by our team of LNG, environmental, pipeline and legal experts, we concluded that this project is viable, will exceed California's environmental, public health and safety standards, and will provide more benefits and features than any other proposed LNG project in California," Smith added.

"Access to regasification services at Port Esperanza will be open to electric and gas utilities, independent power generators, gas marketers and LNG suppliers," commented Terry Mitchell, Esperanza Energy's vice president and LNG marketing specialist. "This access would be available to those involved with other California LNG proposals whether or not their LNG import projects go forward."

Port Esperanza's offshore receiving terminal would allow world-class carriers to transport LNG from overseas, dock and offload at its deepwater facility. The LNG would then be converted into natural gas at the vessel location and sent to shore via undersea pipeline connecting with the onshore natural gas pipeline grid for use by California consumers.

One of the project's unique environmental features is its use of warm water discharged from an onshore thermal host which eliminates ocean water intake or the creation of air emissions at the facility to warm the LNG back into natural gas ("regasification"). This warm water would be cooled during the regasification process to near ambient water temperature before being discharged offshore at the facility.

Esperanza Energy is in technical discussions with coastal thermal plants regarding the beneficial reuse of their discharge water, which not only allows the offshore facility to operate with zero air emissions, but also redirects onshore warm water discharge points away from sensitive coastal ecosystems to more environmentally acceptable deep-water areas, thus providing a net environmental benefit. This approach allows Port Esperanza to be energy efficient in its regasification process, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions footprint compared to typical regasification processes at other proposed California LNG facilities. The offshore facility further reduces its emissions by using electricity purchased from onshore sources for its primary power requirements and utilizes onboard batteries for backup power.

The project will install its water supply and natural gas export pipeline, along with communication and electrical lines from the onshore power plant, in a horizontally drilled tunnel buried 100-feet under the beach and coastal environments, avoiding populated areas. This tunnel would also greatly minimize any impact to the shallow water marine environment.

"Energy project development can be accomplished in a manner consistent with California's high environmental quality and public safety project requirements. The project development team succeeded because it placed top priority on environmental and energy efficiency goals in the site selection and facility design process," stated David Maul, president of Maul Energy Advisors, and a former manager of the state's natural gas program and the environmental protection office at the California Energy Commission.

"The team also listened to guidance from regulatory agencies as they interpreted the applicable environmental quality and safety laws and standards. These values and the early consultation process have set a new standard in ensuring California's energy needs are met in the most environmentally acceptable manner possible. We now look forward to receiving input from other stakeholders that could make this an even better project for California."

Environmental and Safety Considerations

Every aspect of Port Esperanza has been carefully designed to minimize the project's environmental footprint and avoid the adverse environmental impacts associated with other proposed California LNG import terminals. By eliminating ocean water use and offshore power generation and using heated water from an onshore electrical generating station, the project will not burn fossil fuels to warm the LNG, as is currently proposed by other California LNG projects.

Port Esperanza would not have any significant air quality or marine impact. No petroleum fuels will be stored on site that might create a risk of a spill into the ocean. Whenever possible, emissions from LNG supply vessels docking at the terminal would be minimized through the use of natural gas in those marine engines. The project would also include three small dedicated support vessels fueled with natural gas.

The LNG industry has demonstrated an excellent safety record during the last four decades of operation and Port Esperanza's offshore location will further enhance public safety in the delivery of new natural gas supplies to consumers. In addition, the project's unique processing technology eliminates the need for large marine storage structures or above ground storage tanks offshore or on land.

Environmentally Preferred LNG Import Technology

Esperanza Energy's demanding environmental criteria for any offshore LNG technology necessitates that the receiving facility:

• Has the capability of operating with zero air emissions (i.e., running on electricity derived from onshore, having battery backup power systems and not involving any onsite internal combustion engines)

• Does not require the onsite ingestion of seawater

• Has the smallest possible "footprint" or physical profile to minimize aesthetic impact from shore

• Does not require the onsite (or onshore) storage of LNG or other petroleum products

• Does not incorporate any unproven or non-industry standard components in the LNG transfer and regasification infrastructure

• Has the highest possible degree of operational reliability and safety

Esperanza Energy currently is working closely with TORP Technology Inc., a Houston-based company, and its Norwegian-based parent company, TORP Technology AS, to evaluate adaptation of the company's proprietary liquefied gas-transfer and processing technology, called the HiLoad, to meet Esperanza's strict environmental requirements.

The HiLoad facility securely attaches to an LNG tanker and directly vaporizes the LNG as it is offloaded. It then injects natural gas into undersea pipelines that eventually supply the gas markets. TORP's patented HiLoad LNG Regas technology potentially would enable a safe and cost-efficient unloading and regasification offshore terminal operation.

Washington March 7, 2007 - In a stunning development just one month before BHP Billiton's controversial proposal to build a massive liquid natural gas terminal off the coast of Oxnard and Malibu goes before California state officials for approval, the powerful chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has accused the federal Environmental Protection Agency of dropping a key environmental roadblock to the project for political reasons and then stonewalling Congress by refusing to turn over key documents.

In a letter sent earlier this week to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said that politics was behind the EPA's 2005 decision to reverse an earlier determination requiring the Cabrillo Port LNG project to comply with Clean Air Act requirements -- a ruling that would have doomed the project.

According to Rep. Waxman, "a senior EPA political official intervened in the permit decision after meetings with the company seeking the permit."

Rep. Waxman added that not only had career EPA staff strenuously opposed the reversal, but "the analysis that EPA cited to justify reversing the career officials does not appear to exist."

Waxman's letter went on to lambaste the EPA for what the congressman called its "decision to withhold potentially important documents" -- a decision he said "is impeding Congress' investigation into these issues."

"BHP Billiton has known since 2004 that its proposed Cabrillo Port LNG Terminal project was a non-starter under the requirements of the Clean Air Act," said Susan Jordan, Director of the California Coastal Protection Network (CCPN). "BHP's solution was to go behind the public's back and use its political connections to pressure the EPA to reverse course and drop the requirements that every other major new source of pollution would have to comply with. BHP's disingenuous behavior is reprehensible, EPA's reversal is illegal, and nothing short of full compliance with the Clean Air Act is acceptable."

In 2004, EPA Region IX (located in San Francisco, California) determined that the Cabrillo Port LNG project would have to comply with Clean Air Act requirements for the use of "best available control technology" (BACT) and "emission reduction credits" (offsets) because the project would be such a large source of new air pollution. BACT is required to ensure that air pollution emissions from new facilities are as low as possible, through the use of state-of-the-art technology. Emission reduction credits are required to cancel out, or offset, any remaining emissions and are secured based on emission reductions acquired from other approved sources.

Apparently determining that it would not or could not secure enough offsets to comply with the Clean Air Act requirements, BHP Billiton instead lobbied the White House and EPA political appointees in Washington in an attempt to overturn the decision made by EPA Region IX. In July 2005, EPA issued a short letter announcing that the Cabrillo Port LNG project would be exempt from requirements of the Clean Air Act.

"What Rep. Waxman has confirmed is that EPA had no valid justification for reversing its position," said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel for the Environmental Defense Center. "The decision was based on pressure from Bush appointees in the EPA. It is illegal to exempt this company from the Clean Air Act requirement to obtain emission offsets. We know it. BHP Billiton knows it. And now the public knows it."

CCPN's attorneys at the Environmental Defense Center did the painstaking legal detective work that uncovered the string of events that led to the EPA reversal. They used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover thousands of pages of key documents and correspondence that demonstrated the behind-the-scenes lobbying by BHP Billiton.

Last November, CCPN and EDC provided Representative Waxman with the timeline of EPA's decisions and supporting documents. When Representative Waxman assumed the Chairmanship of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he made it a priority to launch an inquiry into the EPA's reversal on the BHP Billiton air permit.

Singapore March 8, 2007 - Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), has delivered PV DRILLING I, a KFELS B class jackup rig to PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint Stock Company.

The project, which was signed on 22 February 2005 was delivered to its owner on 7 March 2007, ahead of time and within budget. This is two months ahead of its contractual delivery schedule.

Keppel FELS’ ability to deliver ahead of schedule has enabled PV Drilling I to start work earlier for Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company.

During the naming ceremony at Keppel FELS in Singapore today, Mr Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Keppel O&M, said, "To deliver a rig two months early during this very busy period in the market is something special. It demonstrates the strong core values and close collaboration of both our companies. We have developed a strong working relationship characterized by teamwork, flexibility and mutual understanding."

Significantly, this feat was accomplished without any lost time incident in over 2.5 million man-hours. Keppel O&M’s commitment to safety saw their 10-year low Accident Frequency Rate of 1.62 for the Group’s Singapore yards in 2005 further improved to 1.20 in 2006.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry for the Republic of Singapore who graced the ceremony, said, "Keppel FELS has cause to celebrate as they have again delivered a new rig on-time and on-budget. With over 1,000 people working onboard the rig at any one time, the company has done well in ensuring that every worker who comes to work goes home safe.

"Above all, I am told that its owner, PV Drilling, is pleased with the quality of this rig. I am glad that companies like Keppel are constantly innovating to develop new designs with new capabilities to meet market needs and stay ahead of competition."

Built to Keppel’s proprietary design, the KFELS B Class rig is PV Drilling’s first newbuild jackup. PV DRILLING I is also the 13th KFELS B Class rig delivered since its introduction in 2000. This demonstrates rapid market acceptance of a Singaporean proprietary design.

PV DRILLING I is customized to PV Drilling’s specifications for operations in water depths of up to 300 feet and drilling depths of down to 20,000 feet. The rig can accommodate up to 110 men and is readily upgradeable for higher drilling capabilities in water depths of up to 350 feet. With the delivery, it will be deployed in Offshore Vietnam.

Mr Tran Ngoc Canh, President, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group said," This is not the first time we have cooperated with Keppel FELS who have proven they are one of the most technically capable shipbuilding companies in the world. As you well know, PetroVietnam and Keppel KFELS have a good long-term relationship since we have had opportunities to work together in some important projects. With the completion of PV Drilling I jack up rig two months before the contract deadline, it proved a most judicious decision of PetroVietnam and PV Drilling to award the contract to Keppel FELS, marking an important step in a good relationship between PetroVietnam as well as Keppel Offshore & Marine."

Keppel FELS has been actively involved in Vietnam since the 1980s. In 1984, Keppel FELS build Hoang Sa, a 1,200-tonne floating crane. Later in 1988, it delivered Vietnam’s first drilling rig, Tam Dao 1, for Vietsovpetro, a Vietnam-Russian joint venture.

Beyond the offshore market, sister company Keppel Land has invested over US$650 million dollars in eight real estate projects while Keppel Integrated Engineering is undertaking two wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam.

On Vietnam, Minister Lim said, "The country is also fast becoming a key regional oil and gas exporter with over 600 million barrels of proven oil reserves."

He added, "Singapore is happy to participate in and contribute to the growth of Vietnam."