Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Roger Read – Natixis Bleichroeder
Roger Read – Natixis Bleichroeder
Regarding your comments about the blend of work and the outlook for spending, could you take a bit about the blend between IRM versus construction work and the potential impact on margins in the first half of 2009.
Scott Naughton
As far as pricing goes, we are seeing our pricing holding on all of our saturation assets and utilization is staying very strong. We have certainly seen some downward pressure with the winter months on our surface diving and shallow water pipe lay activity. We finished up last year with about a 50/50 split between new construction and hurricane repairs wrapping up our typical inspection and repair type market within those numbers also and right now on our backlog we see a higher percentage of hurricane activity for 2009 but with seasonality catch up that will balance out. And I would also lump the derrick barges in with our sat assets utilization and rates are staying very solid.
Roger Read – Natixis Bleichroeder
As you talked about $1.5 billion or so of bids outstanding, could you give us a general sense of what the regional profile might be there, are things increasingly gravitating to international waters as things slow down in 2009 in the Gulf.
Scott Naughton
That’s a nice split between southeast Asia and the Mid East and we’re also seeing activity, bidding activity picking up in Mexico.
Kregg Lunsford
I think we said earlier the international share of that bidding activity is over 90%.
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Jim Rollyson – Raymond James
Jim Rollyson – Raymond James
If you look at some of your thoughts on, you mentioned obviously that diving is going to remain probably strong presumably construction is a little lower, but if you think about the CapEx slowing down on the new construction side, and the hurricane work helping pick up some of the slack and maybe with the outlook for drydocking days which I think you said 70% was first half, how do you think about the first half of 2009 relative to the first half of 2008 because obviously you started off 2008 pretty slow and then when you started getting into season, things started to pick up and then helped out by the hurricanes later in the year, you think you have a little bit of head of steam on the hurricane side where first half of 2009 is better.
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