Psst ... wanna rent a rig, free? Hope for a busy USG storm season

— Calling all oil companies! Wanna be able to rent a drilling rig for free?

Here's the catch: the rig must be a mat jackup, be employed in the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico and your contract must span at least one hurricane or tropical storm fierce enough to warrant evacuation of the rig. But once all that happens, you don't have to pay for the evacuation days. Think of it ... you'll save perhaps $40,000 or $50,000 per day over five or so days of evacuation -- two or three days of crew removal and possibly two or three days while the storm passes through and teams inspect the rig. Dayrates resume the moment crews return. That adds up to a quarter of a million dollars or more in the bank. That's the come-on being used by driller Pride International, which is touting its zero-rate offer during storm evacuations on new contracts for US Gulf mat jackups to "try to remove some of the weather risk for customers during hurricane season in a challenging commodity environment," according to spokeswoman Kate Perez. Analysts noted that with an economic downturn tamping down shallow-water Gulf activity on top of the normal several months of lull during hurricane season, Pride's creative approach to drumming up business is worth a try. And it's not just more business the driller seeks, said Perez, but keeping its experienced crews employed and busy. With its balance sheet in good shape after years of diligent care, the driller appears to have the blessing of Wall Street. So hurry in and claim yours. As the Sham-Wow guy on TV says, "We can't do this all day ..."