They did so under the auspices of the Butrint Foundation, set up in 1993 by two British grandees: Lord Rothschild, a banker whose villa on the shores of Corfu looks across to Butrint, and Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, a supermarket magnate.

ECONOMIST: Mediterranean archaeology

Will Honeybourne, a First Reserve managing director in Houston who helped spearhead the deal--and beat out rival buyout shop Candover--notes that Abbot's rig-building and operating subsidiaries Bentec and KCA Deutag are particularly strong in Russia, West Africa, the Middle East and Libya.

FORBES: First Reserve Bets On Abbot