EXHIBIT 99.1

                            CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                             18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
                            AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report of Parker Drilling Company (the
"Company") on Form 10-Q for the three months ending March 31, 2003 as filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report"), I,
Robert L. Parker Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of the
Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

      1.    The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or
            15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

      2.    The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all
            material respects, the financial condition and result of operations
            of the Company.

/s/ Robert L. Parker Jr.
- ---------------------------------------------
Robert L. Parker Jr.
President and Chief Executive
Officer and Director


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