Helmerich & Payne, Inc. is a contract drilling company that owns land rigs in the U.S. and in various international locations, as well as platform rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico. Included in the Company?s active land rig fleet are more than 50 H&P-designed and operated FlexRigs?. The Company has reached contractual agreements with customers that will result in the construction of more than another 50 new FlexRigs scheduled to be deployed during 2006 and 2007. The latter will increase the Company?s global rig fleet by over 40%.