![]() | |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
NYSE: RIG | |
ISIN | CH0048265513 |
Industry | Oilfield services, offshore drilling & equipment |
Predecessor | Sonat |
Founded | 1973 |
Headquarters | Vernier, Switzerland |
Key people | Jeremy D. Thigpen, President & CEO Merrill A. Miller, Jr., Chairman Mark L. Mey, CFO Keelan Adamson, COO |
Products | Lease and operation of semi-submersible and jack-up drilling rigs and drillships |
Revenue | ![]() ![]() |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | 6,600 (2019) |
Website | www |
Footnotes /references [1] |
Transocean Ltd. is an American drilling company. [2] It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. [3]
In 2010, Transocean was found partially responsible (30% of total liability) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulting from the explosion of one of its oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. [4] Like other companies involved in the petroleum industry, Transocean has experienced a number of other notable industrial accidents including oil spills and worker injury .
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. [1]
Transocean 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 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 the company. [5] 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 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, 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. [8]
Sedco Forex had been formed from a merger of two drilling companies, the Southeastern Drilling Company (Sedco), founded in 1947 by Bill Clements and acquired by Schlumberger in 1985 for $1 billion [9] 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. [10]
In 2000, Transocean acquired R&B Falcon Corporation, owner of 115 drilling rigs, in 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 . [11] R&B Falcon had acquired Cliffs Drilling Company in 1998. [12]
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). [13]
In 2007, 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. [14]
In 2007, the company merged with GlobalSantaFe Corporation in 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. [15]
In 2008, the company moved its headquarters to Switzerland, resulting in a significantly lower tax rate. [16]
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. [13]
In 2010, Transocean was implicated in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulting from the explosion of one of its oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico that was leased to BP. [17]
In 2011, the company acquired Aker Drilling, which owned 4 harsh environment rigs used for drilling near Norway. [18]
In 2012, the company sold 38 shallow water rigs and narrowed its focus on high-specification deepwater rigs. [19]
In 2013, the company was added to the S&P 500 index. [20]
In February 2015, CEO Steven Newman quit following a $2.2 billion quarterly loss. [21]
Effective on 30 March 2016, the company delisted its shares from the SIX Swiss Exchange, at which time its shares were removed from the Swiss Market Index. [22]
Effective on January 30, 2018, the company completed its acquisition of Songa Offshore. [23]
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 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. [25] The Deepwater Horizon explosion and massive oil spill, starting in April 2010, 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. [26]
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. [27]
On 17 June 2003, one worker was killed, four others were hospitalised and 21 were evacuated after an explosion on a Transocean gas drilling rig in Galveston Bay, Texas. [28]
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." [29] On 21 November 2005, Transocean was found to be in compliance for this matter. [29]
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." [30] [31]
In 2008, two Transocean workers were reportedly killed on the company's vessels. [32]
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 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. [33] [34]
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 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 the rig. [35]
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. [36]
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. [37] 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 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." [38]
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. [39] [40] 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. [41]
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. [42] 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 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. [43]
In the early hours of Monday 8 August 2016, the semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Winner ran aground near Dalmore in the Carloway district of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. [44] 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 the rig, in spite of it being close to the shore. [45] 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. [46] Environmental monitoring of plant and animal life is on-going, particularly in view of the economically important fish farming operations in nearby Loch Ròg.
Schlumberger NV, doing business as SLB, also known as Schlumberger Limited, is an American oilfield services company. As of 2022, it is both the world's largest offshore drilling company and the world's largest offshore drilling contractor by revenue.
Ixtoc 1 was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Sedco 135 in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters 50 m (164 ft) deep. On 3 June 1979, the well suffered a blowout resulting in the largest oil spill in history at its time. To-date, it remains the second largest oil spill in history after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP company. On April 20, 2010, while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on April 22, the Horizon collapsed, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and becoming the largest marine oil spill in history.
Deepwater Millennium was a fifth generation Samsung/Reading & Bates designed, dynamic positioned (DP) Marshall Islands-flagged drillship owned by Transocean. The vessel was capable of drilling in water depths up to 8,100 ft using an 18.75 in (47.6 cm), 15,000 psi blowout preventer (BOP), and a 21 in (53 cm) outside diameter (OD) marine riser. It was retired in 2018.
Deepwater drilling, or deep well drilling, is the process of creating holes in the Earth's crust using a drilling rig for oil extraction under the deep sea. There are approximately 3400 deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico with depths greater than 150 meters.
The United States offshore drilling debate is an ongoing debate in the United States about whether, the extent to which, in which areas, and under what conditions, further offshore drilling should be allowed in U.S.-administered waters.
The Tiber Oil Field is a deepwater offshore oil field located in the Keathley Canyon block 102 of the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico. The deepwater field was discovered in September 2009 and it is operated by BP. Described as a "giant" find, it is estimated to contain 4 to 6 billion barrels of oil in place. Although BP states it is too early to be sure of the size – a "huge" field is usually considered to contain 250 million barrels. It required the drilling of a 10,685 m (35,056 ft) deep well under 1,260 m (4,130 ft) of water, making it one of the deepest wells ever drilled at the time of discovery.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an environmental disaster which began on 20 April 2010, off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 MMbbl. After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history.
The Macondo Prospect is an oil and gas prospect in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. The prospect was the site of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in April 2010 that led to a major oil spill in the region from the first exploration well, named itself MC252-1, which had been designed to investigate the existence of the prospect.
On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers; 17 others were injured. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the largest environmental disaster in United States history.
The following is a timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It was a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. It was a result of the well blowout that began with the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion on April 20, 2010.
Discoverer Enterprise is a fifth generation deepwater double hulled dynamically positioned drillship owned and operated by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., capable of operating in moderate environments and water depths up to 3,049 m (10,000 ft) using an 18.75 in (47.6 cm), 15,000 psi blowout preventer (BOP), and a 21 in (53 cm) outside diameter (OD) marine riser. From 1998 to 2005 the vessel was Panama-flagged and currently flies the flag of convenience of the Marshall Islands.
The civil and criminal proceedings stemming from the explosion of Deepwater Horizon and the resulting massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began shortly after the April 20, 2010 incident and have continued since then. They have included an extensive claims settlement process for a guilty plea to criminal charges by BP, and an ongoing Clean Water Act lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and other parties.
This article covers the effect of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the resulting oil spill on global and national economies and the energy industry.
The Kaskida Oil Field is an offshore oil field located in the Keathley Canyon block 292 of the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico, 250 miles (400 km) south-west of New Orleans, Louisiana. The field is operated by BP, and owned by BP (100%).
Following is a timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for June 2010.
Following is a timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for July 2010.
Following is a Timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for May 2010.
Cameron International Corporation (formerly Cooper Cameron Corporation (CCC) and Cooper Oil Tool, Cameron Iron Works) though now operating under Schlumberger, is a global provider of pressure control, production, processing, and flow control systems as well as project management and aftermarket services for the oil and gas and process industries. Cameron was acquired by Schlumberger (SLB) in 2016, and now operates as 'Cameron, an SLB Company.' At the start of the SLB acquisition in 2015, Cameron employed approximately 23,000 people and delivered $9.8 billion in revenue.
The Deepwater Horizon investigation included several investigations and commissions, among others reports by National Incident Commander Thad Allen, United States Coast Guard, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, National Academy of Engineering, National Research Council, Government Accountability Office, National Oil Spill Commission, and Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.