Then on New Year's Eve, the drill barge Kulluk had to be cut loose in a severe storm while being towed back to its winter home port in Seattle.

CNN: Shell halts Arctic drill plans for 2013

Houston contractor Parker Drilling (nyse: PKD - news - people ) has had its share of woes since building Sunkar, a barge designed to drill in the icy, shallow waters of the Caspian.

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Focusing on high-margin drilling technology and tools, Duroc-Danner spun off the drill-pipe business as Grant Prideco in 2000 and sold off capital-intensive barge rig and gas-compression businesses.

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