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71-527: Transocean Ltd. is an American drilling company . It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Steinhausen, Switzerland . The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 2010, Transocean was found partially responsible (30% of total liability) for

142-412: A drilling rig , which contains all necessary equipment to circulate the drilling fluid, hoist and rotate the pipe, remove cuttings from the drilling fluid, and generate on-site power for these operations. After drilling and casing the well, it must be 'completed'. Completion is the process in which the well is prepared to produce oil or gas. In a cased-hole completion, small perforations are made in

213-401: 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. On 14 May 2010, US 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

284-480: A "sweep" effect to push hydrocarbons out of the reservoir. Such methods require the use of injection wells (often chosen from old production wells in a carefully determined pattern), and are used when facing problems with reservoir pressure depletion or high oil viscosity, sometimes being employed early in a field's life. In certain cases – depending on the reservoir's geomechanics – reservoir engineers may determine that ultimate recoverable oil may be increased by applying

355-489: A deal valued at $ 17.7 billion. 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 had acquired Cliffs Drilling Company in 1998. In 2005, the company's Discoverer Spirit rig set a world record for the deepest offshore oil and gas well of 34,189 ft (10,421 m). In 2007,

426-401: A disposal problem at wells that are developed to produce oil. If there are no pipelines for natural gas near the wellhead it may be of no value to the oil well owner since it cannot reach the consumer markets. Such unwanted gas may then be burned off at the well site in a practice known as production flaring , but due to the energy resource waste and environmental damage concerns this practice

497-422: A high pressure, high-temperature well of duration 100 days can cost about US$ 30 million. Onshore wells can be considerably cheaper, particularly if the field is at a shallow depth, where costs range from less than $ 4.9 million to $ 8.3 million, and the average completion costing $ 2.9 million to $ 5.6 million per well. Completion makes up a larger portion of onshore well costs than offshore wells, which generally have

568-473: A large number of neglected or poorly maintained wellheads is a large environmental issue: they may leak methane or other toxic substances into local air, water and soil systems. This pollution often becomes worse when wells are abandoned or orphaned – i.e., where wells no longer economically viable are no longer maintained by their (former) owners. A 2020 estimate by Reuters suggested that there were at least 29 million abandoned wells internationally, creating

639-516: A marked avoidance of areas near oil wells and seismic lines due to disturbances. Drilling often destroys wildlife habitat, causing wildlife stress, and breaks up large areas into smaller isolated ones, changing the environment, and forcing animals to migrate elsewhere. It can also bring in new species that compete with or prey on existing animals. Even though the actual area taken up by oil and gas equipment might be small, negative effects can spread. Animals like mule deer and elk try to stay away from

710-689: A merger of two drilling companies, the S outh e astern D rilling Co mpany (Sedco), founded in 1947 by Bill Clements and acquired by Schlumberger in 1985 for $ 1 billion and French drilling company Forages et Exploitations Pétrolières (Forex) founded in 1942 in German-occupied France for drilling in North Africa. Schlumberger first got a foothold in the company in 1959 and then assumed total control in 1964, and renamed it Forex Neptune Drilling Company. In 2000, Transocean acquired R&B Falcon Corporation, owner of 115 drilling rigs, in

781-424: A mud motor while drilling to achieve a depth of over 12,000 metres (12 km; 39,000 ft; 7.5 mi). Until the 1970s, most oil wells were essentially vertical, although lithological variations cause most wells to deviate at least slightly from true vertical (see deviation survey ). However, modern directional drilling technologies allow for highly deviated wells that can, given sufficient depth and with

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852-450: A raw form known as associated petroleum gas , is almost always a by-product of producing oil. The short, light-gas carbon chains come out of solution when undergoing pressure reduction from the reservoir to the surface, similar to uncapping a bottle of soda where the carbon dioxide effervesces . If it escapes into the atmosphere intentionally it is known as vented gas , or if unintentionally as fugitive gas . Unwanted natural gas can be

923-400: A roughly 2.5 percent annual population decline in males, correlating with the density of oil and gas wells. Factors such as sagebrush cover and precipitation seemed to have little effect on count changes. These results align with other studies highlighting the detrimental impact of oil and gas development on sage-grouse populations. GlobalSantaFe Corporation GlobalSantaFe Corporation

994-463: A shallow land well to millions of dollars for an offshore one. Thus the burden may fall on government agencies or surface landowners when a business entity can no longer be held responsible. Orphan wells are a potent contributor of greenhouse gas emissions , such as methane emissions , contributing to climate change . Much of this leakage can be attributed to failure to have them plugged properly or leaking plugs. A 2020 estimate of abandoned wells in

1065-523: A shallower reservoir. Such remedial work can be performed using workover rigs – also known as pulling units , completion rigs or "service rigs" – to pull and replace tubing, or by the use of well intervention techniques utilizing coiled tubing . Depending on the type of lift system and wellhead a rod rig or flushby can be used to change a pump without pulling the tubing. Enhanced recovery methods such as water flooding, steam flooding, or CO 2 flooding may be used to increase reservoir pressure and provide

1136-543: A significant source of greenhouse gas emissions worsening climate change. The earliest known oil wells were drilled in China in 347 CE. These wells had depths of up to about 240 metres (790 ft) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine producing salt . By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to

1207-418: A transaction that created a company with an enterprise value of $ 53 billion. Shareholders of GlobalSantaFe Corporation received $ 15 billion of cash as well as stock in the new company for their shares. 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. In 2008,

1278-603: A waterflooding strategy early in the field's development rather than later. Such enhanced recovery techniques are often called Secondary or " tertiary recovery ". Orphan , orphaned, or abandoned wells are oil or gas wells that have been abandoned by fossil fuel extraction industries . These wells may have been deactivated because had become uneconomic, failure to transfer ownerships (especially at bankruptcy of companies ), or neglect, and thus no longer have legal owners responsible for their care. Decommissioning wells effectively can be expensive, costing several thousands of dollars for

1349-399: A well depends mainly on the daily rate of the drilling rig, the extra services required to drill the well, the duration of the well program (including downtime and weather time), and the remoteness of the location (logistic supply costs). The daily rates of offshore drilling rigs vary by their depth capability, and the market availability. Rig rates reported by industry web service show that

1420-410: Is becoming less common. Often, unwanted (or 'stranded' gas without a market) gas is returned back into the reservoir with an 'injection' well for storage or for re-pressurizing the producing formation. Another solution is to convert the natural gas to a liquid fuel. Gas to liquid (GTL) is a developing technology that converts stranded natural gas into synthetic gasoline, diesel or jet fuel through

1491-591: 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 . On 2 March 2002, a Scottish man was killed in an accident aboard the Transocean Leader drilling rig operated for BP , located about 138 kilometers (86 miles) west of Shetland , Scotland. On 17 June 2003, one worker

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1562-559: Is far more costly than a comparable onshore well. These wells dot the Southern and Central Great Plains, Southwestern United States, and are the most common wells in the Middle East. Another way to classify oil wells is by their purpose in contributing to the development of a resource. They can be characterized as: At a producing well site, active wells may be further categorized as: Lahee classification [1] The cost to drill

1633-447: Is usually outfitted with a collection of valves called a Christmas tree or production tree. These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to the wellbore in case further completion work is needed. From the outlet valve of the production tree, the flow can be connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or oil export terminals. As long as

1704-543: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulting from the explosion of one of its oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico . The primary business of Transocean is contracts with other large companies in the oil and gas industry . In 2019, Royal Dutch Shell accounted for 26% of the company's revenues, while Equinor accounted for 21% of the company's revenues, and Chevron accounted for 17% of the company's revenues. Transocean

1775-658: The Fischer–Tropsch process developed in World War II Germany. Like oil, such dense liquid fuels can be transported using conventional tankers for trucking to refineries or users. Proponents claim GTL fuels burn cleaner than comparable petroleum fuels. Most major international oil companies are in advanced development stages of GTL production, e.g. the 140,000 bbl/d (22,000 m /d) Pearl GTL plant in Qatar, scheduled to come online in 2011. In locations such as

1846-499: The Gulf of Mexico that was leased to BP . In 2011, the company acquired Aker Drilling , which owned 4 harsh environment rigs used for drilling near Norway. In 2012, the company sold 38 shallow water rigs and narrowed its focus on high-specification deepwater rigs. In 2013, the company was added to the S&;P 500 index. In February 2015, CEO Steven Newman quit following a $ 2.2 billion quarterly loss. Effective on 30 March 2016,

1917-469: 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. 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. As a result, oil began to spill into the Gulf of Mexico . Estimates of

1988-518: The 12th century. Some sources claim that from the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in the area around modern Baku , Azerbaijan , to produce naphtha for the petroleum industry . These places were described by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those oil wells as hundreds of shiploads. When Marco Polo in 1264 visited Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea , he saw oil being collected from seeps. He wrote that "on

2059-584: The Carloway district of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides , Scotland . The rig had been under tow by the tug Alp Forward in winds of galeforce, when the tow line broke. The rig subsequently drifted ashore at Dalmore and became stuck fast on rocks at 07.30 BST. Continuing poor weather meant that a damage inspection by salvors has been practically impossible, as personnel require to be airlifted on to

2130-471: 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. In response to broad criticism, including from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar , the company announced that its executives would donate the safety portion of

2201-537: The Gulf of Mexico. In 1967, the Offshore 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. William C. O'Malley, an executive at Sonat's headquarters in Birmingham, was named the company's first Chief Executive Officer in 1992. In 1993, Sonat spun off the majority of its ownership in

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2272-653: The US 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 US$ 13,440,000 to settle the matter. In 2007, the company merged with GlobalSantaFe Corporation in

2343-576: The United States was that methane emissions released from abandoned wells produced greenhouse gas impacts equivalent to three weeks of US oil consumption each year. The scale of leaking abandoned wells is well understood in the US and Canada because of public data and regulation; however, a Reuters investigation in 2020 could not find good estimates for Russia, Saudi Arabia and China—the next biggest oil and gas producers. However, they estimate there are 29 million abandoned wells internationally. Natural gas, in

2414-527: The United States with a high natural gas demand, pipelines are usually favored to take the gas from the well site to the end consumer . Wells can be located: Offshore wells can further be subdivided into While the location of the well will be a large factor in the type of equipment used to drill it, there is actually little downhole difference in the well itself. An offshore well targets a reservoir that happens to be underneath an ocean. Due to logistics and specialized equipment needed, drilling an offshore well

2485-520: The added cost burden of a surface platform. The total costs mentioned do not include the those associated with the risk of explosion and leakage of oil. Those costs include the cost of protecting against such disasters, the cost of the cleanup effort, and the hard-to-calculate cost of damage to the company's image. The impacts of oil exploration and drilling are often irreversible, particularly for wildlife. Research indicates that caribou in Alaska show

2556-492: The bonuses to a fund supporting the victims' families. The offshore drilling facility "Sedco 706", operated by Transocean under contract from Chevron , began to leak in November 2011 while working on the "Frade" oil field. Oil began leaking from the seabed at a depth of approximately 1100 to 1200m. Damage included an oil slick (oil floating on the ocean surface) covering an area of approximately 80 km2 and growing. This put

2627-400: The borehole. Screens also control the migration of formation sands into production tubulars, which can lead to washouts and other problems, particularly from unconsolidated sand formations. After a flow path is made, acids and fracturing fluids may be pumped into the well to fracture , clean, or otherwise prepare and stimulate the reservoir rock to allow optimal production of hydrocarbons into

2698-404: The case of horizontal wells. These new systems allow casing to run into the lateral zone equipped with proper packer/frac-port placement for optimal hydrocarbon recovery. The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life: when the oil and gas are produced. By this time, the oil rigs and workover rigs used to drill and complete the well will have moved off the wellbore, and the top

2769-775: The casing from corrosive well fluids. In many wells, the natural pressure of the subsurface reservoir is high enough for the oil or gas to flow to the surface. However, this is not always the case, especially in depleted fields where the pressures have been lowered by other producing wells, or in low-permeability oil reservoirs. Installing a smaller diameter tubing may be enough to help the production, but artificial lift methods may also be needed. Common solutions include surface pump jacks , downhole hydraulic pumps or gas lift assistance. Many new systems in recent years have been introduced for well completion. Multiple packer systems with frac ports or port collars in an all-in-one system have cut completion costs and improved production, especially in

2840-708: The company delisted its shares from the SIX Swiss Exchange , at which time its shares were removed from the Swiss Market Index . Effective on January 30, 2018, the company completed its acquisition of Songa Offshore . In December 2018, the company acquired Ocean Rig . Transocean was rated as a leader in its industry for many years. However, since the company's 2007 merger with GlobalSantaFe, Transocean's reputation has suffered considerably, according to EnergyPoint Research, an independent oil service industry rating firm. From 2004 to 2007, Transocean

2911-425: The company moved its headquarters to Switzerland, resulting in a significantly lower tax rate. 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. In 2010, Transocean was implicated in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulting from the explosion of one of its oil rigs in

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2982-419: The company's vessels. On 20 April 2010, a fire was reported on a Transocean-owned semisubmersible drilling rig , Deepwater Horizon . Deepwater Horizon was a RBS8D design of Reading & Bates Falcon, 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 Block 252 in the Gulf of Mexico . The rig was 41 mi (66 km) off

3053-484: The company. Sonat sold its remaining 40% stake in the company during a secondary public offering in late 1995. 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

3124-535: The confines toward Geirgine there is a fountain from which oil springs in great abundance, in as much as a hundred shiploads might be taken from it at one time." In 1846, Baku (settlement Bibi-Heybat ) the first ever well was drilled with percussion tools to a depth of 21 metres (69 ft) for oil exploration . In 1846–1848, the first modern oil wells were drilled on the Absheron Peninsula north-east of Baku, by Russian engineer Vasily Semyonov applying

3195-458: The deepwater water floating drilling rigs are over twice the daily cost of the shallow water fleet, and rates for jack-up fleet can vary by factor of 3 depending upon capability. With deepwater drilling rig rates in 2015 of around $ 520,000/day, and similar additional spread costs, a deepwater well of a duration of 100 days can cost around US$ 100 million. With high-performance jackup rig rates in 2015 of around $ 177,000, and similar service costs,

3266-437: The drilling location (extended reach drilling), allowing for the production of hydrocarbons located below locations that are difficult to place a drilling rig on, environmentally sensitive, or populated. The target (the endpoint of the well) will be matched with a surface location (the starting point of the well), and a trajectory between the two will be designed. There are many considerations to take into account when designing

3337-532: The ideas of Nikolay Voskoboynikov. Ignacy Łukasiewicz , a Polish pharmacist and petroleum industry pioneer drilled one of the world's first modern oil wells in 1854 in Polish village Bóbrka, Krosno County who in 1856 built one of the world's first oil refineries . In North America, the first commercial oil well entered operation in Oil Springs, Ontario in 1858, while the first offshore oil well

3408-546: The leak were about 80,000 barrels per day – for 87 days. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on 29 April, 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 28 April that the accident could have been prevented and focused blame on Transocean, which owned and partly manned

3479-503: The noise and activity of drilling sites, sometimes moving miles away to find peace. This movement and avoidance can lead to less space for these animals affecting their numbers and health. The Sage-grouse is another example of an animal that tries to avoid areas with drilling, which can lead to fewer of them surviving and reproducing. Different studies show that drilling in their habitats negatively impacts sage-grouse populations. In Wyoming , sage grouse studied between 1984 and 2008 show

3550-494: The oil at a distance of about 370 km from Rio de Janeiro, but other beautiful beaches are much closer (estimated 140 km). The Brazilian government sued Transocean and attempted to force the company to cease operations in Brazil, but a settlement was reached without a finding of fault or liability. In the early hours of Monday 8 August 2016, the semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Winner ran aground near Dalmore in

3621-403: The portion of the casing across the production zone, to provide a path for the oil to flow from the surrounding rock into the production tubing. In open hole completion, often a 'sand screen' or 'gravel pack' is installed in the last-drilled but uncased reservoir section. These maintain structural integrity of the wellbore in the absence of casing, while still allowing flow from the reservoir into

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3692-439: The pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, the production tree is all that is required to produce the well. If the pressure depletes and it is considered economically viable, an artificial lift method mentioned in the completions section can be employed. Workovers are often necessary in older wells, which may need smaller diameter tubing, scale or paraffin removal, acid matrix jobs, or completion in new zones of interest in

3763-435: The price of oil and gas, a well may be unproductive, but if prices rise, even low-production wells may be economically valuable. Moreover, new methods, such as hydraulic fracturing (a process of injecting gas or liquid to force more oil or natural gas production) have made some wells viable. However, peak oil and climate policy surrounding fossil fuels have made fewer of these wells and costly techniques viable. However,

3834-443: The process, sections of steel pipe ( casing ), slightly smaller in diameter than the borehole at that point, are placed in the hole. Cement slurry will be pumped down the inside to rise in the annulus between the borehole and the outside of the casing. The casing provides structural integrity to that portion of the newly drilled wellbore, in addition to isolating potentially dangerous high pressure zones from lower-pressure ones, and from

3905-448: The proper tools, actually become horizontal. This is of great value as the reservoir rocks that contain hydrocarbons are usually horizontal or nearly horizontal; a horizontal wellbore placed in a production zone has more surface area in the production zone than a vertical well, resulting in a higher production rate. The use of deviated and horizontal drilling has also made it possible to reach reservoirs several kilometers or miles away from

3976-547: The rig, in spite of it being close to the shore. The rig was carrying approximately 280 tons of diesel, to power its generators, of which 53 tons is thought to have leaked into the sea, and dispersed or evaporated in rough conditions. Environmental monitoring of plant and animal life is on-going, particularly in view of the economically important fish farming operations in nearby Loch Ròg . Oil well Wells are frequently sold or exchanged between different oil and gas companies as an asset – in large part because during falls in

4047-481: The rig. Transocean came under fire from lawyers, representing the fishing and tourism businesses that were hit by the oil spill, and the United States Department of Justice for seeking to use a Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 to restrict its liability for economic damages to $ 26.7 million. During Congressional testimony, Transocean and BP blamed each other for the disaster. It emerged that

4118-401: The surface. With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can be drilled deeper (into potentially higher-pressure or more-unstable formations) with a smaller bit, and then cased with a smaller size pipe. Modern wells generally have two to as many as five sets of subsequently smaller hole sizes, each cemented with casing. This process is all facilitated by

4189-450: The target. These properties may include lithology pore pressure , fracture gradient, wellbore stability, porosity and permeability . These assumptions are used by a well engineering team designing the casing and completion programs for the well. Also considered in the detailed planning are selection of the drill bits, Bottom hole assembly , and the drilling fluid Step-by-step procedures are written to provide guidelines for executing

4260-474: 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). The Enterprise class drillship is the largest of the drilling ships. In 1999, Transocean merged with Sedco Forex, the offshore drilling subsidiary of Schlumberger in a $ 3.2 billion stock transaction in which Schlumberger shareholders received shares of Transocean. Sedco Forex had been formed from

4331-406: The trajectory such as the clearance from any nearby wells (anti-collision) or future wellpaths. Before a well is drilled, a geologic target is identified by a geologist or geophysicist to meet the objectives of the well. When the well path is identified, a team of geoscientists and engineers will develop a set of presumed characteristics of the subsurface path that will be drilled through to reach

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4402-742: The use of natural gas for lighting and heating. Petroleum was known as burning water in Japan in the 7th century. According to Kasem Ajram, petroleum was distilled by the Persian alchemist Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) in the 9th century, producing chemicals such as kerosene in the alembic ( al-ambiq ), and which was mainly used for kerosene lamps . Arab and Persian chemists also distilled crude oil in order to produce flammable products for military purposes. Through Islamic Spain , distillation became available in Western Europe by

4473-410: The well in a safe and cost-efficient manner. With the interplay with many of the elements in a well's design, trajectories and designs often go through several iterations before the plan is finalized. The well is created by drilling a hole 12 cm to 1 meter (5 in to 40 in) in diameter into the earth with a drilling rig that rotates a drill string with a bit attached. At depths during

4544-406: 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." 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

4615-481: The wellbore. Usually the area above the producing section of the well is packed off inside the casing, and connected to the surface via a smaller diameter pipe called tubing. This arrangement provides a redundant barrier to leaks of hydrocarbons as well as allowing damaged sections to be replaced. Also, the smaller cross-sectional area of the tubing gives reservoir fluids an increased velocity to minimize liquid fallback that would create additional back pressure, and shields

4686-674: Was an offshore drilling contractor headquartered in Houston, Texas . It owned 59 marine drilling rigs. In November 2007, the company was acquired by Transocean . The company was formed in 2001 by the merger of Global Marine and Santa Fe International Corporation. In March 2003, the company temporarily suspended operations in Kuwait ahead of the Iraq War . In May 2004, the company sold its worldwide land drilling assets to Precision Drilling for $ 316.5 million. In August 2004, one of

4757-555: Was drilled in 1896 in the Summerland Oil Field on the California Coast. The earliest oil wells in modern times were drilled percussively, by repeatedly raising and dropping a bit on the bottom of a cable into the borehole. In the 20th century, cable tools were largely replaced with rotary drilling , which could drill boreholes to much greater depths and in less time. The record-depth Kola Borehole used

4828-465: Was formed as a result of the merger of Southern Natural Gas Company, later Sonat , with many smaller drilling companies. In 1953, 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 Rig 51, the first mobile jackup rig , in

4899-657: Was found to be in compliance for this matter. On 12 April 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." In 2008, two Transocean workers were reportedly killed on

4970-534: Was killed, four others were hospitalised and 21 were evacuated after an explosion on a Transocean gas drilling rig in Galveston Bay, Texas . On 24 August 2005, the UK Health and Safety Executive issued a notice to Transocean saying that, it had failed to maintain its "remote blowout preventor control panel … in an efficient state, efficient working order and in good repair." On 21 November 2005, Transocean

5041-584: 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 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. The Deepwater Horizon explosion and massive oil spill , starting in April 2010, further hurt its reputation. "Transocean

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