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Two leaders of the offshore drilling industry who serve as officers of the International Association of Drilling Contractors were among 16 recently appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission on Ocean Policy, a national group charged with evaluating ocean and coastal activities and reporting recommendations to the President and Congress in 18 months.

Lawrence R. Dickerson, president and chief operating officer of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and 2001 secretary-treasurer of IADC, and Paul L. Kelly, senior vice president of special projects for Rowan Companies and chairman of the IADC Government Affairs Committee, will be the only representatives of the offshore energy industry on the commission. Representatives of fishing, scientific and environmental interests, along with representatives of state and local government and academia, also are included.

Dickerson also serves on the Ocean Research Advisory Panel, assigned the task of reporting to the Secretary of the Navy on offshore environmental and technological issues. He has been with Diamond Offshore since October 1979 and previously served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for six years.

Kelly is a long-time member of the IADC Board of Directors. He received a public service commendation for his seven years of service to the US Coast Guard National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee. He also represents the drilling and service/supply industries on the Secretary of the Interior's Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee. Kelly recently served on the National Petroleum Council Coordinating Subcommittee that studied US natural gas supply, demand and distribution through 2015. He has testified before Congress on several occasions in support of increasing domestic gas supply.

Both men reside in the Houston area.

The Commission on Ocean Policy was created by Congress with the Oceans Act of 2000, signed by President Bill Clinton. Its purpose is to promote responsible ocean stewardship and the protection of life and property against natural and man-made disasters. The act is intended to protect the marine environment, promote and enhance marine-related commerce and transportation and resolve conflicts among its users.

IADC is dedicated to enhancing the interests of oil-and-gas and geothermal drilling contractors worldwide. Its membership comprises nearly 1,000 companies, including contract-drilling and well-servicing firms, oil-and-gas producers, and manufacturers and suppliers of oilfield equipment and services. IADC's contract-drilling members own most of the world's land and offshore drilling units and drill the vast majority of the wells that produce the planet's oil and gas. Founded in 1940, IADC strives to secure responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide.

IADC holds Accredited Observer status at the International Maritime Organization and the International Seabed Federation, branches of the United Nations. The Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training, notably its Well Control Accreditation Program (WellCAP) and rig-floor orientation program, RIG PASS. IADC is headquartered in Houston and is one of the city's largest trade and professional associations. IADC also has offices in Washington D.C., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Middle East, as well as chapters in the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC website at http://www.iadc.org.

Source: Paula Ruth & Company Public Relations