HOUSTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rowan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RDC) announced today that an S-76 helicopter operated by its wholly- owned subsidiary, Era Aviation, Inc. ("Era"), is missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/ROWANLOGO )

The helicopter was under contract to Unocal with eight passengers and two crew members aboard. The last contact with the helicopter was shortly after 7:00 p.m. last night when it was about 70 miles south of Galveston. Search and rescue operations are ongoing by the U.S. Coast Guard, with assistance from Era and other private air and sea transportation service providers.

Rowan Companies, Inc. is a major provider of international and domestic offshore contract drilling and aviation services. The Company also operates a mini-steel mill, a manufacturing facility that produces heavy equipment for the mining, timber and transportation industries, and a drilling products division that has designed or built about one-third of all mobile offshore jack-up drilling rigs, including all 23 operated by the Company. The Company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Pacific Exchange - Stock & Options. Common Stock trading symbol: RDC. Contact: William C. Provine, Vice-President - Investor Relations, 713-960-7575. Website: www.rowancompanies.com

SOURCE  Rowan Companies, Inc.
    -0-                             03/24/2004
    /CONTACT:  William C. Provine, Vice-President-Investor Relations of Rowan
Companies, Inc., +1-713-960-7575/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/ROWANLOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com /
    /Web site:  http://www.rowancompanies.com /
    (RDC)

CO:  Rowan Companies, Inc.; Era Aviation, Inc.; Unocal
ST:  Texas
IN:  OIL
SU:

JS-AH 
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9422 03/24/2004 12:09 EST http://www.prnewswire.com