HOUSTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pride International, Inc. (NYSE: PDE) announced today that its board of directors has elected Louis A. Raspino to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Pride. Mr. Raspino replaces Paul A. Bragg, who has resigned his positions with Pride to pursue other interests following discussions with and at the request of the Board.

Mr. Raspino, age 52, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since joining Pride in December 2003. From July 2001 until December 2003, he was Senior Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Grant Prideco, Inc. Prior to his service at Grant Prideco, Mr. Raspino held executive positions at Halliburton, Burlington Resources and Louisiana Land and Exploration Company.

David A. B. Brown, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pride, stated: "We are very pleased that Louis Raspino has agreed to serve as CEO of Pride. Louis has almost 30 years of experience at international exploration and production as well as energy service companies. As such, he provides Pride an in-depth understanding of both the international service business and its customer base. Since joining Pride 18 months ago, Louis has been one of the primary drivers for many of the significant improvements in Pride's performance. We look forward to utilizing his skills and vision to continue our progress."

Mr. Brown continued: "The Board also wishes to thank Paul Bragg for his 12 years of service to Pride -- as CFO, as President and COO and as CEO. Paul has been an integral part of the transformation of the Company from a small, domestic land well-servicing company to one of the world's largest international drilling contractors."

Pride has commenced a search for a new Chief Financial Officer.

The Company will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. central time on Thursday, June 30, 2005 on a listen-only basis. Individuals who wish to listen to the conference call may do so by dialing (888) 664-9959 in the United States or (517) 308-9020 outside of the United States. The conference call password is "Pride." The conference call will also be broadcast live, on a listen-only basis, over the Internet at http://ir.prideinternational.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=72166&p=irol-EventDetails&EventId=1092730 (copy and paste link into your browser). A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company's corporate web site at http://www.prideinternational.com .

Pride International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of the world's largest drilling contractors. The Company provides onshore and offshore drilling and related services in more than 30 countries, operating a diverse fleet of 289 rigs, including two ultra-deepwater drillships, 12 semisubmersible rigs, 29 jackup rigs, 19 tender-assisted, barge and platform rigs, and 227 land rigs.

The information above includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions identified above or as disclosed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these factors, actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements.

     Contact:  Robert E. Warren
               Steven D. Oldham
               (713) 789-1400


SOURCE  Pride International, Inc.
    -0-                             06/29/2005
    /CONTACT:  Robert E. Warren or Steven D. Oldham, both of Pride
International, Inc., +1-713-789-1400/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030515/PDELOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com /
    /Web site:  http://www.prideinternational.com /
    (PDE)

CO:  Pride International, Inc.
ST:  Texas
IN:  OIL
SU:  PER CCA MAV

CJ-CD
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7085 06/29/2005 17:49 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com