Parker Drilling Names Jon-Al Duplantier as Vice President and General Counsel and Philip Schlom as Principal Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller

HOUSTON, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD), a global drilling contractor and service provider, announced today the appointments of Jon-Al Duplantier as vice president and general counsel, and Philip Schlom as principal accounting officer and corporate controller.

As vice president and general counsel, Duplantier will oversee the Company's legal function on a global basis. He will join the Company effective Sept. 14, 2009, and will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Parker Jr.

Duplantier, 42, joins Parker Drilling from ConocoPhillips, where he served in several legal and executive roles from 1995 to 2009 including senior counsel - Exploration and Production, managing counsel - Indonesia, management assistant - Exploration and Production, and counsel - Dubai. Prior to joining ConocoPhillips, Duplantier served as a patent attorney for DuPont from 1992 to 1995. He received his juris doctor degree from Louisiana State University in 1992 and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Grambling State University.

As principal accounting officer and corporate controller, Schlom will have overall responsibility for all aspects of accounting and financial reporting. He will also join the Company effective Sept. 8, 2009, and will report to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer W. Kirk Brassfield.

Schlom, 45, joins Parker Drilling from Shared Technologies, where he served as vice president and corporate controller. From 1997 to 2008, he held several financial leadership positions at Flowserve Corporation, including director of finance - Engineered Americas (North and Latin America), worldwide group controller - Flow Solutions division, and corporate director, Planning and Analysis/Internal Audit. Prior to joining Flowserve, Schlom served as audit and assurance manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1988 to 1997. He graduated from California State University-Dominguez Hills with a bachelor's degree in Accounting in 1986.

"We are pleased to welcome both Jon-Al and Philip to these leadership roles," said Parker. "Jon-Al's domestic and international law experience and his knowledge of oil and gas industry issues will be invaluable as we continue to execute our strategic plan to grow our International Drilling, Project Management and Rental Tools businesses.

"Additionally, Philip's wide range of financial experience and expertise will serve the Company well as we continue to enhance the effectiveness of our financial reporting.

"We look forward to the many key contributions both gentlemen will make to Parker Drilling," Parker concluded.

Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD) provides high-performance contract drilling solutions, rental tools and project management services to the worldwide energy industry. Parker operates 29 land rigs in strategic international markets and 17 offshore barge rigs, primarily in the coastal waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Company's Rental Tools business rents premium equipment to operators in active land and offshore markets in North America. Founded in 1934, Parker has set numerous world records for deep and extended-reach drilling and is an industry leader in safety performance. More information about Parker Drilling can be found at http://www.parkerdrilling.com.

SOURCE Parker Drilling

Released August 21, 2009