National Oilwell Appoints Bob Beauchamp to Board of Directors

Beauchamp, 42, has served as President and CEO of BMC since January 2001. During his 14 years with BMC, he has served as senior vice president of research & development, vice president of strategic marketing and corporate development, and director of strategic marketing. A leading provider of enterprise management solutions, BMC Software is a member of the S&P 500 with fiscal year 2002 revenues of approximately $1.3 billion.

Beauchamp received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982 and a Masters of Science in Management from Houston Baptist University in 1987. He is an active member in the Houston community and serves on the boards of directors of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Technology Center. Beauchamp is a member of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Advisory Committee To The NYSE Board of Directors.

Pete Miller, National Oilwell's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said "Bob Beauchamp is an outstanding business leader and will make an excellent addition to the National Oilwell board of directors. His expertise in the field of technology will bring new insight to the board and the Company. Bob's appointment is in keeping with a commitment made last year to increase the independence of National Oilwell's board of directors, and we are delighted to welcome him."

Commenting on his appointment, Beauchamp stated, "National Oilwell is an impressive company with a solid management team. I am excited about the opportunity to join the board and look forward to working with a company known for its innovative and effective use of technology within the industry."

National Oilwell is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of comprehensive systems and components used in oil and gas drilling and production, as well as in providing supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.

Statements made in this press release that are forward-looking in nature are intended to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and may involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to documents filed by National Oilwell with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K, which identify significant risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.