Stolt Offshore S.A.                                               [LOGO OMITTED]

NEWS RELEASE

       Stolt Offshore S.A. Announces $250 million Contract Award in Brazil

London, England - November 18, 2005 - Stolt Offshore S.A. (NASDAQ NM: SOSA; Oslo
Stock Exchange: STO), announced today that it had been awarded a new contract by
Petrobras for a firm period of six years for deepwater flexible pipelay offshore
Brazil.

The contract which will commence in January 2007 and is valued at approximately
$250 million, will be undertaken by the CS Pertinacia which will be on long-term
charter to Stolt Offshore from mid 2006. At the start of the charter period the
ship will be converted from her original cable lay configuration to enable her
to transport and install up to 2,500 tonnes of flexible flowlines in water
depths of up to 2000 metres. The investment in the ship conversion and in
project specific equipment will be approximately $55 million.

Philippe Lamoure, Vice President, South America Region, said, "Following the
recent increase in the exploration and production budget for Petrobras, we are
now seeing substantial growth in the pace of offshore construction in Brazil.
This contract, which is evidence of this market growth, will increase our
revenue from the South America region by some 30% without the need to increase
our local cost structure."

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Stolt Offshore is a leading offshore contractor to the oil and gas industry,
specialising in technologically sophisticated deepwater engineering, flowline
and pipeline lay, construction, inspection and maintenance services. The Company
operates in Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, Asia Pacific, and the
Americas.
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Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this press release may
include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These statements may be identified by the use of words like "anticipate",
"believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "project", "will",
"should", "seek", and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements
reflect our current views and assumptions and are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The following factors, and others which are discussed in our
public filings and submissions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
are among those that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ
materially from our forward-looking statements: the general economic conditions
and competition in the markets and businesses in which we operate; our
relationship with significant customers; the outcome of legal proceedings;
uncertainties inherent in operating internationally; the impact of laws and
regulations; and operating hazards, including spills and environmental damage.
Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these
factors, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.


Contacts:
Deborah Keedy/Julian Thomson
Stolt Offshore S.A.
UK +44 1932 773767 or +44 1932 773764
US +1 877 603 0267 (toll free)
deborah.keedy@stoltoffshore.com
julian.thomson@stoltoffshore.com