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Aker Kvaerner Selects HP and BT Alliance to Implement IT Communications Around the Globe


WEBWIRE

OSLO, Norway, July 5, 2006, HP and BT today announced that Aker Kvaerner, a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions, has selected HP and BT to supply it with an agile environment for IT and communications.

Aker Kvaerner is a worldwide operating engineering company in various industries, including oil and gas, refining and chemicals, mining and metals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, power generation, and pulp and paper. In all of these areas, the business is based on projects that set up quickly, need to be executed rapidly and closed on short notice.

The HP and BT alliance will integrate the Norway-based firm’s IT and communication networks into one single global IT organization. With a potential value of $50 million, the five-year contract will cover all IT and communications infrastructure.

The agreement provides an umbrella for all communications services. The first detailed services cover the Aker Kvaerner wide area network, which connects its offices and sites and also provides secure access to the Internet. Further services are expected to follow during the remainder of 2006.

Aker Kvaerner chose the HP and BT alliance while seeking one supplier to provide it with a simple, cost-efficient infrastructure to help the company operate globally.

“This agreement will realize significant savings for Aker Kvaerner globally and deliver a globally consistent service for this critical part of our IT delivery,” said Frode Strand, senior vice president, Global IT, Aker Kvaerner. “Our data and voice communications infrastructure has been fragmented, and although we have made many improvements over the last years, selecting a single global partner affords much lower rates, globally consistent service levels and a flexible contract structure that includes use of benchmarking to guarantee year-on-year savings.”

The deal expands Aker Kvaerner’s relationship with HP, which provides Aker Kvaerner with data center hosting, servers and PCs.

“We are proud to be chosen by such a professional and demanding customer as Aker Kvaerner,” said Eivind Roald, managing director, HP Norway. “The HP and BT alliance will provide the solution Aker Kvaerner needs in order to use IT as a strategic advantage, supporting the company’s business processes and becoming a true adaptive enterprise.”

“We are delighted to have been selected in partnership with HP as single supplier of Aker Kvaerner’s global communication needs,” said Anders Westkamper, Nordics country manager, BT. “It is fantastic recognition of BT’s capabilities in Scandinavia. Once again, the combined expertise and strength of the HP and BT alliance is proven competitive and successful.”

In May 2004, BT and HP announced plans to develop a strategic go-to-market alliance to address mutual growth opportunities in the global IT and networking marketplace. As the communications and IT sectors converge, the alliance presents a major opportunity for BT and HP to use their combined capabilities in delivering enhanced service offerings to the growing global IT and networking market.

About Aker Kvaerner ASA

Aker Kvaerner, through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Aker Kvaerner”), is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions. The business within Aker Kvaerner comprises several industries, including oil and gas, refining and chemicals, mining and metals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, power generation, and pulp and paper. The Aker Kvaerner group is organized into two principal business streams, namely oil & gas and engineering & construction, each consisting of a number of separate legal entities. Aker Kvaerner is used as the common brand/trademark for most of these entities.

The parent company in the group is Aker Kvaerner ASA. Aker Kvaerner has aggregated annual revenues of approximately $6.67 billion and employs approximately 20,000 people in more than 30 countries.

Aker Kvaerner is part of the Aker Group (www.akerasa.com), a multi-industry powerhouse with more than 40,000 employees and $9.64 billion in revenues. Aker owns 50.01 percent of Aker Kvaerner, and the group is also a major European shipbuilder and a significant participant in the fisheries industry.

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in more than 160 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and Internet products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale. For the year ended March 31, 2005, BT Group’s revenue was $34.4 billion with profit before taxation of $4.35 billion.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2006, HP revenue totaled $88.9 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2006, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2005. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.



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