Common Shares

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Common Shares [Abstract]

Common Shares

Note 7   Common Shares

During the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, our employees exercised vested options to acquire 1.0 million and .5 million of our common shares, resulting in proceeds of $12.2 million and $5.4 million, respectively. For the each of the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, we withheld .1 million of our common shares with a fair value of $2.6 million and $1.9 million, respectively, to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of stock awards.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2010, our outstanding share count increased by 103,925 due to share settlements of stock options exercised by our Chairman and then Chief Executive Officer, Eugene M. Isenberg, and our Deputy Chairman, President and then Chief Operating Officer, Anthony G. Petrello. As part of these transactions, unexercised vested stock options were surrendered to Nabors with a value of approximately $5.9 million to satisfy the option exercise price and related income taxes.