The Gulf of Mexico rig market showed improvement for the seventh consecutive month, propelling Global Marine Inc.'s worldwide Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics (SCORE) slightly higher in January. The Gulf of Mexico SCORE rose 5.7%, while other drilling regions show no significant change, said Bob Rose, the Houston offshore drilling contractor's president and chief executive officer. "The true strength of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico market has been the higher-end, long-legged jackups, which have been operating at nearly 100% utilization for several months. In January 2000, day rates for the high-end (fourth generation) semisubmersibles began to strengthen as well," he said. Global Marine compares the profitability of current mobile offshore rig rates to the profitability of rates at the 1980-81 peak of the offshore drilling cycle, when speculative rig construction was common. In that period, the SCORE averaged 100% and new contract day rates equaled the sum of daily cash operating costs plus about $700 per day per $1 million invested. The January Gulf of Mexico SCORE was 28.1%, compared with December's 26.6%. It was down 10% from January 1999 and 9.6% from five years ago. Worldwide, the SCORE for all types of offshore drilling rigs increased to 25.5% from 24.9% in December. The estimate represented a 46.1% decrease from January 1999 and a 28.9% decrease from the same period five years ago. -Paula Dittrick