Nabors took advantage of favorable credit markets to lengthen the average term of our debt at very attractive rates. This consisted of two new debt issues, one with a seven-year term at an interest rate of 4$^{7}$⁄8 percent and a ten-year issue at 5$^{1}$⁄8 percent. Even though we experienced weaker year-over-year results, we were still able to internally fund more than 90 percent of the cash portion of our expenditures for acquisitions and new capital equipment, resulting in a financial position that is stronger and more flexible than ever. 

Commodity prices recovered throughout 2002, but did not reach the levels necessary for our customers to substantially accelerate their drilling programs until the fourth quarter. 

This perceived disconnect is due to the fact that the threshold at which our customers’ drilling prospects become viable has risen substantially since the robust drilling environment we witnessed in 2001. This rising threshold can be attributed to the higher costs and risks associated with finding and developing incremental gas supplies to offset a depletion rate that has nearly doubled over the last decade. Confidence in the long-term sustainability of these prices was building as the year ended, but awareness of historical gas price volatility was a factor in the deferral of higher activity into the new year. As 2002 came to a close, higher than anticipated commodity prices spurred a significant up tick in 

