Transocean

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Transocean Inc.
Type	Public (NYSE: RIG)
Founded	1973 as Sonat Offshore
Headquarters	Houston, Texas
Key people	Robert L. Long, Chief Executive Officer
Industry	Oil Equipment & Services
Products	Drilling Oil and Gas Exploration
Revenue	$6.37 Billion (2007)
Net income	$3.13 billion (2007)
Employees	12,500 (2007)
Website	www.deepwater.com

Transocean Inc. NYSE: RIG is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. The company rents out floating, mobile drill rigs, along with the equipment and personnel needed for operations, to oil and gas companies at a daily rate that averaged $142,000 in 2006.^[1]

The company was spun-off from its parent, Birmingham, Alabama based Sonat Inc, in 1993 and was originally called Sonat Offshore Drilling, Inc. Sonat Offshore acquired the Norwegian group Transocean ASA in 1996 and adopted its name. In 2000 the company merged with Sedco Forex, and was renamed Transocean Sedco Forex. In 2001 the company bought Reading & Bates Falcon. The name of the company was simplified to Transocean in 2003.

Sedco Forex was originally part of Schlumberger until 2000 when it was spun off. Sedco Forex was originally formed from the merger of two drilling companies, the Southeast Drilling Company (Sedco) and French drilling company Forex.

Transocean employs approximately 12,500 people worldwide and has a fleet of 82 vessels and units as of May 17, 2007. It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands while the principal office is in Houston, Texas. The company has offices in 20 countries around the world, with major offices in Stavanger, Aberdeen, Perth, Brazil, and Indonesia.

On July 23, 2007, Transocean announced a merger with GlobalSantaFe Corporation. The merger was completed on November 27, 2007.