HOUSTON (ots-PRNewswire) - Cal Dive International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDIS) has been awarded a contract to decommission Sabine Pass No. 9, a field and production facility owned by Sonat Exploration Company Inc. The turnkey contract includes the removal of one caisson and nine platforms: one 8-pile, one 6- pile, three 4-pile and four 3-pile. In addition, the structures contain 24 wells to be plugged and abandoned and 30 associated pipelines to be decommissioned. Cardinal Services has been engaged to plug and abandon (P&A) the wells. Cal Dive anticipates using a wide array of equipment on the project: the Cal Dive Barge I will remove small structures while the Cal Diver II and V will assist with debris removal, pipeline abandonment and prepping the platforms. Cardinal will utilize three lift boats for the P&A phase and two derrick barges owned by alliance partner Horizon Offshore will handle heavy lift requirements. Owen Kratz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The Sonat assignment demonstrates why Cal Dive is the dominant player in the Gulf of Mexico salvage market. Using resources from our fleet and alliance partners we were able to offer a fixed price on a complex decommissioning project that involves the removal of a significant number of structures and coiled tubing down hole work." Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas operates a fleet of technically advanced marine construction support vessels and conducts salvage operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Energy Resource Technology, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, acquires and operates mature offshore properties as part of CDI decommissioning services. ots Original Text Service: Cal Dive International, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Jim Nelson, Chief Financial Officer of Cal Dive International, Inc., 281-618-0400 Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext 124374 Web site: http://www.caldive.com