SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: Janaury 21, 1997
READING & BATES CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-5587 73-0642271
(State or other (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.)
incorporation)
901 Threadneedle, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77079
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (281) 496-5000
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit 99 - Press Release dated January 20, 1997 - Reading
& Bates Development Co., a wholly owned subsidiary
of Reading & Bates Corporation, and Cal Dive
International announced agreement to pursue
jointly the development of deepwater technology.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf of the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
READING & BATES CORPORATION
By /s/T. W. Nagle
------------------------
T. W. Nagle
Executive Vice President,
Finance and Administration
(Principal Financial and
Accounting Officer)
Dated: January 21, 1997
EXHIBIT 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Mr. Charles R. Ofner
Reading & Bates
(281) 496-5000
Mr. Owen Kratz
Cal Dive International
(281) 690-1818
Reading & Bates Development Co. and Cal Dive International
Agree to Cooperate on Deep Water Technology
January 20, 1997, Houston, Texas....Reading & Bates Development Co., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Reading & Bates Corporation (RB-NYSE), and Cal
Dive International announced agreement to pursue jointly the development
of technology to address growing requirements for subsea well
intervention services and subsea facilities construction in deep water.
The companies will seek term contracts to provide these services and will
consider providing new vessels to fulfill such contracts.
The joint effort will benefit from Reading & Bates' deepwater drilling
experience and Cal Dive's subsea construction and support background and
will draw on both companies' operating experience with the dynamically
positioned service vessels IOLAIR and UNCLE JOHN, respectively. Reading
& Bates' IOLAIR is working in the Foinaven field, west of Shetland in the
U.K., and Cal Dive's UNCLE JOHN is presently working in the U.S. Gulf of
Mexico. Those existing rigs are excluded from this new agreement.
Paul B. Loyd Jr., Reading & Bates Corporation Chairman, President and CEO
said, "We regard this cooperative effort with Cal Dive to be a
significant step forward in each of our company's efforts to understand
and address the requirements of our customers. Reading & Bates is a
world leader in the development of deepwater technology, and we are
confident that our efforts to provide our customers with the equipment
and services necessary to support their deepwater strategies will help
insure our continued long term success."
Cal Dive International, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading
subsea construction contractor and operates a fleet of dynamically
positioned monohull and semisubmersible construction support vessels.
Cal Dive is also a preferred service provider to Total Offshore
Production Systems (TOPS).
Reading & Bates Corporation is a New York Stock Exchange listed company,
providing offshore drilling services throughout the world. Its wholly
owned subsidiary, Reading & Bates Development Co. provides, through its
TOPS joint venture, a full range of field development contracting
alternatives to oil and gas companies, including such services as well
construction, deepwater drilling units, production facilities and
reservoir risk sharing.
Total Offshore Production Systems (TOPS) is a joint venture between
Reading & Bates Development Co. and INTEC Engineering Inc, which provides
turnkey field development from front end engineering through production
of first oil. In addition to Cal Dive, TOPS is supported by preferred
suppliers Cooper Cameron, Kvaerner FSSL and Son-Sub.
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