Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Transocean Offshore News

08 May 2021

Tech Files: Offshore Safety Systems & Equipment

Deepwater Conqueror – Credit: Transocean

Safety of workers,structures, equipment and the environment are paramount in any offshore energy project. In the March/April print edition, Offshore Engineer took a look inside some notable newcomers.Wearable tech to boost drill floor safetyHaloGuard – Credit: TransoceanOffshore drilling contractor Transocean has recently deployed what it said was the offshore drilling industry’s first safety system that integrates a wearable locating device with drill floor equipment and machine stoppage controls.The system…

30 Oct 2015

Alabama Announces $20 Million Transocean Settlement

Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday announced that Alabama has agreed to a settlement with Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc., which owned the Deepwater Horizon. Alabama will receive $20 million. “The State of Alabama suffered tremendous environmental and economic losses because of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “I appreciate the entire Alabama team for working to ensure Alabama is fairly compensated. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon floating drilling rig owned by Transocean and used by BP, experienced a well destabilization that ultimately led to an explosion causing catastrophic fires, a leak of over 3 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the death of 11 people.

17 Jan 2014

Latest Transocean Offshore Rig Status Report

Image courtesy of Transocean

Transocean's latest comprehensive Fleet Status Report provides the current status and contract information for the company's entire fleet of offshore drilling rigs. The total value of new contracts since the December 18, 2013 Fleet Update Summary is approximately $48 million. GSF Arctic III - Awarded a two-well contract in the U.K. sector of the North Sea at a dayrate of $410,000 ($48 million estimated backlog). The rig's prior dayrate was $339,000. Sedco Energy and Transocean Marianas, ultra-deepwater and deepwater floaters, respectively, are idle.

01 Nov 2011

Transocean in U.S. Federal Court on BP Obligations

Transocean Files Motion for Summary Judgment in U.S. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. (TODDI), a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd., today filed a motion for summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana requesting the court to compel BP to honor its contractual obligation to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Transocean for damages associated with BP's failure to contain flow from its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The contract between BP and Transocean for the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig contains industry-standard reciprocal indemnity provisions that apportion risk and quantify liabilities between the two companies.

08 Aug 2011

Transocean Orders Third Jack-up Rig from Keppel FELS

Keppel FELS Limited has secured a repeat order from Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd., valued at $195 million. Following its order of two jack-up rigs from Keppel FELS on February 17, Transocean is exercising its option to build another high-specification jack-up rig based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design for delivery in 3Q2013. This rig is designed with larger spud cans, expanding its operational coverage to more places, especially areas where soft soil is predominant. Having larger spud cans enables the unit to operate efficiently while minimizing potential leg penetration problems in soft soil conditions.

05 Aug 2011

Keppel to Build $195m jack-up rig for Transocean

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) secured a repeat order from Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. (Transocean) for US$195 million. Following its order of two jack-up rigs from Keppel FELS on 17 February 2011, Transocean is exercising its option to build another high specification jack-up rig based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design for delivery in 3Q2013. Mr Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director of Keppel FELS said, "We are pleased that Transocean has chosen to exercise their option in building another jack-up rig to our proprietary design. We have developed a winning collaboration with Transocean over the years through numerous projects.

22 Feb 2008

Watercraft Under Construction is Not a Vessel in Navigation

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a watercraft under construction is not a vessel in navigation for purposes of the Jones Act. In the instant case, plaintiff allegedly incurred injuries while working on an oil drilling rig that was afloat, but not yet ready for operation and for which the required US Coast Guard certificates had not yet been issued. He brought suit under the Jones Act. The court held that the Jones Act was not applicable in that the rig was not yet a vessel in navigation. Cain v. Transocean Offshore USA Source: HK Law

25 Apr 2000

Transocean Sedco Forex Inc. Reports First Quarter 2000 Results

Transocean Sedco Forex Inc announced that net income for the three months ended March 31, 2000 was $32.5 million on revenues of $300.8 million. The results include a cash settlement of $25.1 million, relating to the previously reported agreement with BP Amoco to cancel the remaining 14 months of firm contract time on the semisubmersible Transocean Amirante. Net income for the corresponding three months in 1999 was $11.3 million on revenues of $189.2 million. Operating and maintenance expense for the first quarter of 1999 included charges for severance costs and provisions for potential legal claims totaling $42 million. The December 1999 merger of Transocean Offshore Inc.

20 Feb 2007

W&O Supply Secures Contracts with Industry Leaders

W&O Supply has secured contractual agreements with Transocean Offshore, Inc. and Teekay Shipping, two recognized leaders in the offshore exploration and marine shipping industries. The general service agreements designate W&O Supply as primary provider of marine valves and related products for Teekay Shipping’s fleet and Transocean’s offshore drilling rigs. W&O Supply’s reputation for distributing quality marine products quickly and efficiently were major factors in the company being awarded both contracts. Valves, pipe and fittings are critical components of ships and offshore rigs and their failure can lead to costly interruptions in operations.

20 Feb 2007

Transocean Reaches Agreement on Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Transocean Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement in its dispute with contract driller GlobalSantaFe over patent infringement of Transocean's offshore dual activity drilling technology. The agreement follows an amended final judgment entered last month by a federal district court against GlobalSantaFe. The judgment awarded damages to Transocean and permanently enjoined GlobalSantaFe from further infringement of the Transocean dual activity patents. On January 19, 2007, Judge Sim Lake of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered an amended final judgment against GlobalSantaFe following a jury verdict in Transocean's favor. In August 2006, a federal jury found in favor of Transocean after a trial of approximately two weeks before Judge Lake.

16 Jan 2007

Jones Act – State and Federal Proceedings

In an unpublished decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that it is inappropriate to dismiss an employer’s federal court action against an employee for breach of contract merely because it relates to a state court action brought by the employee against the employer for damages under the Jones Act. In the instant case, the employee was injured while working on the employer’s vessel. Following medical treatment, the employee signed a release and was paid $4,000. A year later, the employee brought suit in state court under the Jones Act. The employer then filed suit in federal court for breach of the release contract. The employee filed a motion to stay the federal litigation in favor of the state action, which the federal district court granted. The employer appealed.

30 Apr 2001

Transocean Expects Steady Improvement Through 2001

Transocean Sedco Forex is a leading international provider of deepwater and harsh environment contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The company’s active fleet consists of 12 high-specification semisubmersibles, 29 second- and third-generation semisubmersibles, two Discoverer Enterprise-class drillships, four other drillships, 17 jackup rigs and three tenders. The company has under construction one Discoverer Enterprise-class drillship and three Sedco Express- class semisubmersibles. In addition, the fleet includes one mobile offshore production unit, six swamp barges and two land drilling rigs. In January 2001, the company completed the acquisition of R&B Falcon Corp., which operates a fleet of 139 marine-based drilling rigs. On Feb.

09 Jun 2003

OTC Announces New Board Members

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) board of directors elected the 2004-2005 chairman and vice-chairman during this year’s event that took place 5-8 May at Reliant Center at Reliant Park in Houston. Members of the OTC Board are appointed to four-year terms by their respective society or organization. The OTC Board includes 13 representatives, 11 from OTC’s sponsoring organizations and two from OTC’s endorsing organizations. The two principal officers, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, are elected for two-year terms by the Board during their annual meeting. The 2004-2005 OTC Chairman is Rod Allan, Manager of Core Expertise for Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. Allan has served four years on the OTC board and succeeds Charlie Richards of C.A.

14 Jan 2000

Discoverer Enterprise Begins Contract With BP Amoco

Transocean Offshore Inc.'s drillship Discoverer Enterprise has been accepted by BP Amoco and has begun work under a five-year contract with BP Amoco valued at more than $360 million. Dynamically positioned Discoverer Enterprise is the first of a new class of advanced, ultra-deepwater drillships employing the company's proprietary dual-activity drilling system. The vessel has completed equipment appraisal and testing in more than 6,100 ft. of water at BP Amoco's Neptune location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It is currently completing plug-and-abandonment work, and after that, it is expected to begin drilling an appraisal well in the Crazy Horse field.

14 Dec 1999

Moody's Ups Transocean Offshore

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings of Transocean Offshore, Inc. to A3 from Baa1 to reflect the significant benefits that the company will likely derive from its pending merger with Sedco Forex Holdings Limited (Sedco). The rating action ends a review of Transocean's ratings initiated on July 12 in response to the company's announcement that it had signed a definitive agreement under which Sedco, the offshore contract drilling business of Schlumberger Limited, will be spun off and combined promptly with Transocean through the issuance of approximately $3.2 billion of Transocean stock and the assumption of about $435 million of debt. The combined company will be known as Transocean Sedco Forex.

05 Jul 2001

IZAR Lands FPSO Order

IZAR has been awarded a contract to build a 900,000bb FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading) unit for Belgium's company Exmar Offshore. The unit is scheduled to be delivered at the end of January 2003 and is intended to be operated by Exmar at the Aquitaine field, in the Mediterranean sea, off Libya. The design is characterized by moderate dimensions such as 210.6 m length, 44 m breadth, 23 m depth and 16.5 m design draft if, compared to its huge 900,000bb storage capacity. This newbuilding will actually be the largest ever delivered by the Spanish builder in terms of capacity despite having constructed several large FPSO units in the past…

17 Aug 1999

Transocean Earnings Beat Forecasts

Transocean Offshore Inc. posted earnings for the second quarter that just beat expectations as low oil prices early in the year caused continued depressed exploration and production spending worldwide. Transocean reported net income for the second quarter of $56.4 million on revenues of $235.6 million. For the corresponding three months in 1998, Transocean reported net income of $69.7 million. Transocean Chairman and CEO J. Michael Talbert said although crude oil prices improved better than 30 percent during the second quarter of 1999, relative to average levels experienced during the initial three months of the year, the dayrates for its rigs fell in the second quarter.

18 Aug 1999

World's Largest Drillship Departs Ingalls

Discoverer Enterprise, the world's largest and most advanced drillship, left Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., into the Gulf of Mexico proceeding a major outfitting effort by Ingalls. Owned by Transocean Offshore, based in Houston, the Spanish-built drillship is leased to BP Amoco for drilling duty off the Louisiana Coast. The 420 ft. tall ship can drill in waters up to 10,000 ft. deep and put down wells to 35,000 ft. Discoverer Enterprise displaces more than 100,000 tons when fully loaded.

27 Aug 1999

ING Raises Ratings On Oil Companies

ING Barings has raised its ratings of the shares of several oil and gas companies. ING raised Burlington Resources to strong buy from hold, Transocean Offshore to strong buy from buy and Ocean Energy Inc. to buy from hold. On Transocean, analyst Stephen Gengaro wrote: "We believe the stock has lagged the group because of the relatively high level of contract rollovers over the next six months, which includes some of the company's high-specification semis currently working at high day rates. "While these rollovers will likely keep pressure on earnings over the next several quarters, we do not expect the company to sign any long-term contracts…

23 Aug 1999

Transocean Offshore Inc. Announces 30-Month Contract for Discoverer Seven Seas

Transocean Offshore Inc. announced one of its operating subsidiaries has been awarded a 30-month contract commitment by Petróleo Brasilerio S.A. (Petrobras), the state oil company of Brazil, for deepwater, dynamically positioned drillship Discoverer Seven Seas. The contract is expected to commence during August 1999, following the completion of the rig's current drilling assignment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and an estimated 40-day mobilization period to Brazil. Revenues expected to be generated over the 30-month contract period are $90 million. In addition, the contract commitment provides for a daily earned bonus opportunity of up to five percent of the base revenue expectation.

02 Aug 1999

World's Largest Drillship Departs Ingalls

Discoverer Enterprise, the world's largest and most advanced drillship, sails from Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., into the Gulf of Mexico proceeding a major outfitting effort by Ingalls. Owned by Transocean Offshore, based in Houston, Texas, the Spanish-built drillship is leased to BP Amoco for drilling duty off the Louisiana Coast. The 420 ft. (128 m) tall ship can drill in waters up to 10,000 ft. (3,048 m) deep and put down wells to 35,000 ft. Discoverer Enterprise displaces more than 100,000 tons when fully loaded.

23 Aug 1999

Schlumberger And Transocean Offshore Combine Forces

Schlumberger Limited and Transocean Offshore Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement under which the offshore contract drilling business of Schlumberger (Sedco Forex Offshore) will be spun off and promptly combined with Transocean Offshore in a merger of equals. The resulting company, Transocean Sedco Forex, will be the world's largest offshore drilling company and is projected to become the fourth largest oilfield service company in terms of market capitalization. The transaction, which should close by December 31, 1999, is anticipated to be modestly dilutive to Transocean Offshore's current earnings expectations for 2000 and accretive thereafter.

17 Aug 1999

Transocean Offshore Inc. Announces 30-Month Contract for Discoverer Seven Seas

Transocean Offshore Inc. announced one of its operating subsidiaries has been awarded a 30-month contract commitment by Petróleo Brasilerio S.A. (Petrobras), the state oil company of Brazil, for deepwater, dynamically positioned drillship Discoverer Seven Seas. The contract is expected to commence during August 1999, following the completion of the rig's current drilling assignment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and an estimated 40-day mobilization period to Brazil. Revenues expected to be generated over the 30-month contract period are $90 million. In addition, the contract commitment provides for a daily earned bonus opportunity of up to five percent of the base revenue expectation.