| Type | Publicly traded limited company (NYSE: RIG, SIX: RIGN) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oilfield services |
| Predecessor | Sonat Offshore |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland |
| Key people | Robert Rose (Chairman), Steven Newman (President and CEO) |
| Products | Lease and operation of semi-submersible and jack-up drilling rigs and drillships |
| Revenue | US $9.576 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | US $1.866 billion (2010)[1] |
| Profit | US $961 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | US $36.81 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | US $21.38 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 18,050 (end 2010)[1] |
| Website | www.deepwater.com |
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) is one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors. The company rents floating mobile drill rigs, along with the equipment and personnel for operations, to oil and gas companies at an average daily rate of US$282,700 (2010).[1] Transocean's day rates extend as high as US$650,000 for its deep-water drillships, which house dual activity derricks and can drill in ultra-deep ocean depths of 10,000 ft (3,000 m).[2] Recently, Transocean has been implicated in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulting from the explosion of one of its oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Transocean employs more than 18,000 people worldwide and has a fleet of 135 offshore drilling units and two ultra-deepwater units under construction, as of December 2011[3]. The company is based in Vernier, Switzerland, near Geneva, and has offices in 20 countries, including Switzerland, the United States, Norway, Scotland, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia. The firm owns nearly half of the 50 or so deepwater platforms in the world.[4]
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Transocean traces its roots back to 1953, when the Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern Natural Gas Company created The Offshore Company after acquiring the joint drilling operation DeLong-McDermott from DeLong Engineering and J. Ray McDermott. In 1954 the company launched the first Jackup rig in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1967 the company went public. In 1978 SNG turned it into a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1982 it was changed to Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc., reflecting a change in its parent's name. In 1993, Sonat spun it off.[5]
In 1996, the company acquired Norwegian group Transocean ASA for US$1.5 billion. Transocean started in the 1970s as a whaling company and expanded through a series of mergers. The new company was called Transocean Offshore. The new company began building massive drilling operations with drills capable of going to 10,000 feet (as opposed to 3,000 feet at the time) and operating two drill operations on the same ship. Its first ship, Discoverer Enterprise, cost nearly US$430 million and was 834 ft (254 m).[6] The Enterprise class drillship is the largest of the drilling ships.[7]
In 1999, Schlumberger proposed a merger of equals with Schlumberger's offshore subsidiary Sedco Forex. The deal was valued at US$3.2 billion. The new company was renamed Transocean Sedco Forex. (The name was simplified to Transocean in 2003.) Sedco Forex had been formed from a merger of two drilling companies, the Southeast Drilling Company (Sedco), founded in 1947 by Bill Clements and acquired by Schlumberger in 1985 for $1 billion,[8] and French drilling company Forages et Exploitations Pétrolières (Forex) founded in 1942 in German occupied France for drilling in North Africa.[5] Schlumberger first got a foothold in the company in 1959 and then assumed total control in 1964 and renamed it Forex Neptune Drilling Company.[8] The spun-off Houston-based Transocean was part of the S&P 500.
In 2000, Transocean acquired R&B Falcon in a deal valued at $17.7 billion.[9] With the acquisition, Transocean gained control of what at the time was the world's largest offshore operation. Among R&B Falcon's assets was the Deepwater Horizon. R&B Falcon was formed in 1997 from the merger of Reading and Bates Exploration, which had been founded in 1970 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[10] and Falcon Drilling, which had been founded in 1988 by Steven A. Webster with a $300,000 investment and headquartered in Houston.[11]
In 2005, Discoverer Spirit set a world record for the deepest offshore oil and gas well of 34,189 ft (10,421 m).[12]
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a case against Transocean, alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The case alleged that Transocean paid bribes through its freight forwarding agents to Nigerian customs officials. Transocean later admitted to approving the bribes and agreed to pay USD $13,440,000 to settle the matter.[13]
On July 23, 2007, Transocean announced a merger with GlobalSantaFe Corporation for US$17 billion. The merger was completed on November 27, 2007. At the time, the two companies were the world's two largest offshore rig operators.[14] As part of the move, Robert E. Rose, who was non-executive chairman of GlobalSantaFe, was made Transocean's chairman. Rose had been chairman of Global Marine prior to its 2001 merger with Santa Fe International Corporation.[15]
In 2008, Transocean was replaced on the S&P by Equitable Resources after the company announced plans to move its headquarters to Switzerland, making it ineligible to be in the S&P index.[16] In October 2008, the company board approved the move to Switzerland.[17] On December 9, 2008, the shareholders approved the move to Switzerland.[18] On December 19, 2008, the company completed the process of changing its place of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. Transocean's top management was scheduled to move to Switzerland from Houston. [19]
In September 2009, its Deepwater Horizon rig established a 35,050 ft (10,680 m) well, the deepest well in history—more than 5,000 feet deeper than its stated design specification.[20]
Over the years, Transocean has moved its incorporation location to take advantage of lower taxes in some jurisdictions. Transocean was originally incorporated in the US state of Delaware, but moved its corporate registration to the Cayman Islands in 1999. In 2008, it moved its registration to the canton of Zug, Switzerland, where it is currently incorporated. Only 12 of its employees work in the Zug office, according to a company spokesperson. The registration move allowed Transocean to lower its corporate income tax rate from 35 percent in the US, to 16 percent in Zug.[21]
August 2011: Transocean Announces $2.23 Billion Takeover Of Aker Drilling, 15th of August 2011. Aiming to supplement its drilling fleet in the harsh arctic environment, U.S. drilling giant Transocean Ltd (RIG) plans to acquire Norwegian drilling rig operator Aker Drilling ASA (AKD.OS) at a 62% premium to current valuation in a deal valued at $2.23 billion. Under the transaction, Transocean, which owned the rig at the center of last year's catastrophic U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has made a voluntary NOK26.50 ($4.83) per share cash offer for all outstanding shares in the company. [22]
On March 2, 2002, a Scottish man was killed in an accident aboard the drilling rig Transocean Leader operated for BP, located about 86 miles west of Shetland, Scotland.[23]
On June 17, 2003, one worker was killed, four others were hospitalized, and 21 were evacuated after an explosion on a Transocean gas drilling rig in Galveston Bay, Texas.[24]
On August 24, 2005, the UK Health and Safety Executive issued a notice to Transocean saying that it had failed to maintain its “remote blow Out preventor control panel … in an efficient state, efficient working order and in good repair.” On November 21, 2005, Transocean was found to be in compliance for this matter.[25]
On April 12, 2007, the Bourbon Dolphin supply boat sank off the coast of Scotland while servicing the Transocean Rather drilling rig, killing eight people. The Norwegian Ministry of Justice established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the incident, and the commission’s report found a series of "unfortunate circumstances" led to the accident “with many of them linked to Bourbon Offshore and Transocean.”[26][27]
In 2008, two Transocean workers were reportedly killed on the company's vessels.[28]
On April 21, 2010, a fire was reported on a Transocean-owned semisubmersible drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, made by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Deepwater Horizon was a Reading & Bates Falcon RBS8D design, a firm that was acquired by Transocean in 2001. The fire broke out at 10:00 p.m. CDT UTC-5 in US waters of Mississippi Canyon 252 in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig was 41 mi (66 km) off the Louisiana coast. The US Coast Guard launched a rescue operation after the explosion which killed 11 workers and critically injured seven of the 126 member crew.[29][30] Deepwater Horizon was completely destroyed, and subsequently sank.
As the Deepwater Horizon sank, the riser pipe that connected the well-head to the rig was severed and as a result oil began to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Estimates of the leak were in the range of 5,000 to 19,000 barrels per day.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on April 29, as the oil slick grew and headed toward the most important and most sensitive wetlands in North America, threatening to destroy wildlife and the livelihood of thousands of fishermen. The head of BP Group told CNN's Brian Todd on April 28 that the accident could have been prevented and focused blame on Transocean, which owned and partly manned the rig.[31]
Transocean has also come under fire from lawyers representing the fishing and tourism businesses that were hit by the oil spill and the Department of Justice for seeking to use an Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 to restrict its liability for economic damages to $26.7 million.[32]
During Congressional testimony, Transocean and BP blamed each other for the disaster. It emerged that a "heated argument" broke out on the platform 11 hours before the accident, in which Transocean and BP personnel disagreed on an engineering decision related to the closing of the well.[33] On May 14, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama commented, “I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle… executives of BP and Transocean and Halliburton [the firm responsible for cementing the well] falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else. The American people could not have been impressed with that display, and I certainly wasn't."[34]
Transocean later claimed that 2010, the year in which the disaster occurred, was "the best year in safety performance in our company’s history." In a regulatory filing, Transocean said, "Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate." They used this justification to award employees about two-thirds of the maximum possible safety bonuses.[35][36] In response to broad criticism, including from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the company announced that its executives would donate the safety portion of the bonuses to a fund supporting the victims' families.[37]
NOVEMBER 2011
Offshore drill-leak off the Brasilian coast. Name of Offshore facility: "Frade". The Frade field is located 370km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in the Northern Campos Basin, Brazil. The heavy oil and gas field lies at a water depth of 1,128m and is estimated to contain 200m-300m barrels of recoverable oil. The field is operated by Chevron, which has a 51.74% interest. Other partners include Petrobras, with 30%, and Frade Japá o Petròleo, with 18.26%. The partners invested approximately $3bn in developing the field. First production was in June 2009. In September 2010, production reached 65,000bpd. Peak output of 90,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids a day is expected in 2011. The field will be operational until 2025.
Oil leaking from seabed in a depth of approx. 1100 to 1200m. Damage (so far): Oil floating on ocean surface covering an area of approx. 80 km2 and growing. Distance to Rio de Janeiro = approx. 370 km. but other beautiful beaches are much closer (estimated 140 km).
Quote from the Chevron-website: "For years after its discovery in 1986, the Frade deepwater field offshore Brazil was considered too technically risky to develop. The field holds medium-heavy oil in shallow reservoirs requiring long horizontal wells. Today, Chevron and its partners have overcome the challenges and are advancing the multibillion-dollar development toward first oil in 2009. By 2011, Frade is expected to reach peak production of 90,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day." http://www.chevron.com/annualreport/2008/deliveringenergy/developenergyforthefuture/frade/
Transocean was rated as a leader in its industry for many years. However, since the company's merger with GlobalSantaFe in 2007, Transocean's reputation has suffered considerably, according to Energy Point Research, an independent oil service industry rating firm. From 2004 to 2007, Transocean was the leader or near the top among deep-water drillers in "job quality" and "overall satisfaction." In 2008 and 2009, surveys ranked Transocean as last among deep-water drillers for "job quality" and as next to last in "overall satisfaction." In 2008 and 2009, Transocean ranked first for in-house safety and environmental policies, and in the middle of the pack for perceived environmental and safety record.[38] The Deepwater Horizon explosion and massive oil spill starting in April 2010, has further hurt its reputation. “Transocean is dominant, but the accident has definitely tarnished its reputation for worker safety and for being able to manage and deliver on extraordinarily complex deepwater projects,” said Christopher Ruppel, an energy expert and managing director of capital markets at Execution Noble, an investment bank.[4]
According to Transocean's fleet report, as of April 30, 2010 the company has 25 ultra deepwater rigs, plus three under construction, 16 deepwater rigs, five harsh environment, 25 midwater floaters, 10 high specification jackups, 55 jackups, two swamp barges and one other.[39]
Ultra deepwater rigs are the largest and deepest rigs drilling 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) and greater. Enterprise class ships are named after Discoverer Enterprise, the first of the large drill ships, and operate in the lower reaches of the Bathyal zone. All of the craft possess Dynamic positioning capabilities.
| Name | Type | Entered service | Water depth | Drilling depth | Location | Customer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cajun Express | semi | 2001 | 8,500 ft (2,600 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Brazil | Petrobras | |
| Deepwater Champion | ship | 2011[40] | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 40,000 ft (12,000 m) | Black Sea[41] | ExxonMobil | |
| Deepwater Discovery | ship | 2000 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Brazil | Devon | |
| Deepwater Expedition | ship | 1999 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Malaysia | Petronas/BHP | |
| Deepwater Frontier | ship | 1999 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | India | Reliance | |
| Deepwater Horizon | semi | 2001 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BP | Destroyed April 2010 |
| Deepwater Millennium | ship | 1999 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Brazil | Anadarko | |
| Deepwater Nautilus | semi | 2000 | 8,000 ft (2,400 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Shell | |
| Deepwater Pathfinder | ship | 1998 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Eni | |
| Development Driller III | semi | 2009 | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 37,500 ft (11,400 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BP | Drilling relief well and Deepwater Horizon cleanup[42] |
| Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 | ship | 2009 | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | India | Reliance | |
| Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 | ship | 2010 | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | India | Reliance | |
| Discoverer Americas | ship | 2009 | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 40,000 ft (12,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Statoil | |
| Discoverer Clear Leader | ship | 2009 | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 40,000 ft (12,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Chevron | Being deployed to Deepwater Horizon oil spill (target date of mid-July 2010)[43] |
| Discoverer Deep Seas | ship | 2001 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Chevron | |
| Discoverer Enterprise | ship | 1999 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BP | Oil being pumped into it in the Deepwater Horizon cleanup[42] |
| Discoverer India | ship | TBA | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | India | Reliance | Under construction |
| Discoverer Inspiration | ship | 2010 | 12,000 ft (3,700 m) | 40,000 ft (12,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Chevron | |
| Discoverer Luanda | ship | TBA | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 40,000 ft (12,000 m) | Angola | BP | Under construction |
| Discoverer Spirit | ship | 2000 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Anadarko | |
| GSF C.R. Luigs | ship | 2000 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BHP Billiton | |
| GSF Development Driller I | semi | 2004 | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 37,500 ft (11,400 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BHP Billiton | |
| GSF Development Driller II | semi | 2004 | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 37,500 ft (11,400 m) | Gulf of Mexico | BP | Drilling relief well in the Deepwater Horizon cleanup[42] |
| GSF Explorer | ship | 1972/1998 | 7,800 ft (2,400 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Indonesia | Marathon-led Consortium | Formerly the U.S. Navy ship Glomar Explorer used in Project Azorian for the recovery of a Soviet nuclear submarine |
| GSF Jack Ryan | ship | 2000 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 35,000 ft (11,000 m) | Nigeria | Total | |
| Petrobras 10000 | ship | 2009 | 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 37,500 ft (11,400 m) | Angola | Petrobras | |
| Sedco Energy | semi | 2001 | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Nigeria | Chevron | |
| Sedco Express | semi | 2001 | 7,500 ft (2,300 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Mediterranean Sea | Noble Energy |
Deepwater rigs drill 1,400 to 2,300 metres (4,600 to 7,500 ft). They operate in the upper reaches of the Bathyal zone. About half of the craft have Dynamic positioning capabilities.
| Name | Type | Entered service | Water depth | Drilling depth | Location | Customer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deepwater Navigator | ship | 2000 | 7,200 ft (2,200 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Brazil | Petrobras | |
| Discoverer 534 | ship | 1975/1991 | 7,000 ft (2,100 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | India | Reliance | |
| Discoverer Seven Seas | ship | 1976/1997 | 7,000 ft (2,100 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | India | ONGC | |
| GSF Celtic Sea | semi | 1982/1998 | 5,750 ft (1,750 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Angola | ExxonMobil | |
| Jack Bates | semi | 1986/1997 | 5,400 ft (1,600 m) | 30,000 ft (9,100 m) | Australia | Hess | |
| Jim Cunningham | semi | 1982/1995 | 4,600 ft (1,400 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Angola | ExxonMobil | |
| M.G. Hulme, Jr. | semi | 1983/1996 | 5,000 ft (1,500 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Libya | Gazprom | |
| Sedco 702 | semi | 1973/2007 | 6,500 ft (2,000 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Nigeria | Shell | |
| Sedco 706 | semi | 1976/1994/ 2008 | 6,500 ft (2,000 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Brazil | Chevron | |
| Sedco 707 | semi | 1976/1997 | 6,500 ft (2,000 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Brazil | Petrobras | |
| Sedco 709 | semi | 1977/1999 | 5,000 ft (1,500 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Malaysia | Stacked | |
| Sedco 710 | semi | 1983 | 4,500 ft (1,400 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Brazil | Petrobras | |
| Sovereign Explorer | semi | 1984 | 4,500 ft (1,400 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Brazil | Repsol | |
| Transocean Marianas | semi | 1979/1998 | 7,000 ft (2,100 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Gulf of Mexico | Eni | |
| Transocean Rather | semi | 1988 | 4,500 ft (1,400 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Angola | ExxonMobil | |
| Transocean Richardson | semi | 1988 | 5,000 ft (1,500 m) | 25,000 ft (7,600 m) | Angola | Chevron |
| Name | Type | Entered service | Water depth | Drilling depth | Location | Customer | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedco 135B | semi | 1965 | 50 m | 3,600 m | Shell | sank on maiden voyage from Hiroshima to Brunei with 13 casualties in 1965.[44] | |
| Sedco 135F | semi | 1967 | 50 m | 3,600 m | Gulf of Mexico | Pemex | destroyed at Ixtoc I in 1979.[45] |
| GSF Rig 127 | jack up | 1981 | 250 ft (76 m) | 20,000 ft (6,100 m) | Qatar (now stacked) | Maersk Oil Qatar AS | Drilled world record extended reach well of 40,320 ft (12,289 m) in May 2008—more than 20,000 ft (6,100 m) deeper than its design specification |
| Transocean John Shaw | semi | 1982 | 549 m | 7,620 m | North Sea | Petrofac |
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