Stolt Offshore Announces Settlement of Patent Dispute

Stolt Offshore S.A. announced that its long running UK litigation with a competitor regarding a European patent covering technology related to the laying of flexible pipes, has been settled out of court. The settlement involves a cash payment by Stolt Offshore in respect of past patent infringements and the granting of a licence under the disputed patent covering the North Sea area. The settlement will not have a material impact on the Company's results for 2004. Tom Ehret, Chief Executive Officer of Stolt Offshore, said, "The satisfactory resolution of the this patent infringement action marks significant progress in our settlement of long outstanding disputes."