Pride Obtains Waiver from Lenders

Pride International, Inc.

Pride International said that it has obtained a waiver until June 30 from lenders under its senior secured revolving credit facility, which corresponds to the company's late filing of its 2005 annual report on Form 10-K. The company had previously filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a 15-day extension period related to the filing of its annual report. That extension expires today.

Last month, during the course of Pride's internal audit and investigation relating to certain Latin American operations, the company's management and internal audit department received allegations relating to improper payments to foreign government officials going back a number of years. The audit committee of Pride's board has assumed direct responsibility over the investigation of the allegations, along with various accounting entries and internal control issues.

Pride said that it voluntarily notified the SEC and the US Department of Justice of the allegations. Given the audit committee's ongoing investigation, the company contends that it cannot file its 2005 annual report until it obtains additional information--including information that it needs to complete its assessment of its system of internal controls and the accuracy of its books and records.

Although the audit committee is "aggressively" pursuing its investigation, Pride said that cannot determine when it will be in a position to file its Form 10-K.

In a separate move, Pride announced that it completed the sale transaction of the accommodation unit Pride Rotterdam and received cash proceeds of $53.3 million.


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