Contract Win

RNS Number:9431L
Abbot Group PLC
05 June 2003


      Abbot Wins Further US $75 Million Contract for BP Offshore Azerbaijan

                                                                     5 June 2003

The Abbot Group is the largest offshore platform drilling contractor in the UK
sector of the North Sea, one of the largest international land drilling
operators outside North America, and a world leader in drilling rig design,
construction and operation.

Abbot Group plc ("Abbot") announces that its international drilling subsidiary
KCA DEUTAG has been awarded a further contract by BP on behalf of its partners
in the Shah Deniz development project for platform drilling services for the
Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

The agreement, worth approximately US $75 million was signed in Baku today and
requires KCA DEUTAG to carry out platform drilling services for a period of 5
years. This follows on from engineering and construction supervision contracts
which are currently being performed by KCA DEUTAG.

The Shah Deniz platform will utilise an innovative jack-up concept based on the
Technip TPG 500 design. It simplifies offshore installation and has the ability
to transfer to other locations. Similar designs have been used in the North Sea
for BP's Harding field and on the Elgin/Franklin field for Total.

KCA DEUTAG is committed to maximising the Azerbaijan content with this project
and will be focussing very much on the training of Azerbaijan nationals with
significant support from the Aberdeen head office.

Alasdair Locke, Executive Chairman of Abbot, commented:

"This is our third announcement of this nature in recent weeks and is further
evidence of our continued success in Azerbaijan, complementing existing
operations we have in that area. Recently, we announced that KCA DEUTAG had been
awarded two significant contracts offshore Azerbaijan with a total value of $225
million together with the award of a similar contract offshore Angola valued at
$120 million. The announcement of today's contract win together with these new
projects provides the Group with formidable forward visibility of earnings.

Additionally, this contract further confirms our strategy of
internationalisation of our offshore business in niche areas, a strategy we will
continue to promote in a number of key regions."

For further information:

Alasdair Locke                 Peter Willetts
Executive Chairman             Justin Griffiths
Abbot Group plc                Tavistock Communications Limited
Tel: [phone]             Tel: [phone]




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