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Transocean

World's largest offshore drilling company.

Headquarters:
4 Greenway Plaza
Houston, TX 77046
Employees: 12,500
CEO: Robert Long
Stock Symbol: RIG

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Transocean Inc. is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor with a fleet of 82 mobile offshore drilling units. The company's mobile offshore drilling fleet, consisting of a large number of high-specification deepwater and harsh environment drilling units, is considered one of the most modern and versatile in the world due to its emphasis on technically demanding segments of the offshore drilling business. The company's fleet consists of 33 High-Specification Floaters (semisubmersibles and drillships), 20 Other Floaters, 25 Jackups and other assets utilized in the support of offshore drilling activities worldwide.

Transocean excels at constructing oil and natural gas wells in the deep waters and harsh environments. The company provides rigs for all types of petroleum companies in offshore drilling markets that include the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and eastern Canada, Brazil, the U.K. and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, West Africa, Asia, including Australia, the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean.

Transocean holds 19 of the past 23 world records for drilling in the deepest waters. The ultra-deepwater drillship Discoverer Deep Seas set the current world water depth drilling record in 10,011 feet of water in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in November 2003 working for ChevronTexaco.

Other world records include the world's deepest subsea wells completed in approximately 9,000 feet of water by the Deepwater Millennium and the world water depth record for a moored rig in 8,951 feet of water by the Deepwater Nautilus.

In 2006, the company reported record revenues of $3.88 billion and net income of $1.38 billion.

History

Since launching the offshore drilling industry's first jackup drilling rig in 1954, Transocean has achieved a long history of technological "firsts." These innovations include:
- First offshore jackup drilling rig
- First self-propelled jackup
- First turret-moored drillship
- First dynamically positioned drillship for exploration
- First dynamically positioned semisubmersible
- First fourth-generation semisubmersible
- First rig to drill year-round in the North Sea
- First semisubmersible for sub-Arctic, year-round operations in the Barents Sea
- First semisubmersible for year-round drilling West of the Shetland Islands in more than 4,000 feet of water
- First deepwater semisubmersibles with patented Tri-Act derrick
- First ultra-deepwater drillship with patented dual-activity drilling system

1926 - Danciger Oil & Refining Company, founded in 1919 in Louisiana, USA, purchases its first drilling rig.
1942 - Forex founded in France.
1947 - Southeastern Drilling Company (Sedco) founded in Texas, USA, by Bill Clements (former Texas Governor, 1979-1983 and 1987-1991).
1950 - Southern Production Co., a subsidiary of Southern National Gas, buys Danciger.
1952 - Schlumberger acquires some ForexDrilling shares.
1952 - Southeastern Drilling Company begins drilling in South Texas, USA, with two, shallow-water semisubmersible barges.
1953 - Southern Production forms The Offshore Company to design and construct the world's first jackup drilling rig and merges The Offshore Company with Danciger drilling operations.
1954 - Rig 51: world's first offshore jackup drilling rig developed by The Offshore Company in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
1955 - Rig 21: first "post-type" swamp barge, built by Sedco, Trinidad
1955 - Southeastern Drilling Company operates as Sedco. Operations expand from the United States to Latin America and the Far East.
1962 - Neptune Offshore founded with capital from Forex and Languedocienne- Forenco.
1963 - The Offshore Company acquires International Drilling Co. Ltd. of London, marking the beginning of the company's operations in the United Kingdom.
1963 - Discoverer I: world's first turret-moored drillship
1965 - Hustler: first movable cantilevered drilling rig on a jackup barge
1966 - The Offshore Company's Orion: world's first jackup designed for year-round operations in the North Sea
1968 - Schlumberger acquires majority interest in Forex.
1969 - Pentagone 81: first semisubmersible rig built by Neptune of Forex, The French Petroleum Institute, Hyrdrocarbon Support Fund.
1969 - The Offshore Mercury: world's first self-propelled jackup
1970 - Schlumberger acquires 50% interest in Neptune from Languedocienne-Forenco and becomes Forex's partner.
1971 - Schlumberger holds 100% of Forex stock. Forex Neptune is integrated with Languedocienne-Forenco within Schlumberger.
1971 - Neptune's Pentagone 81 discovers the Frigg Field in the North Sea
1971 - Sedco 445: first dynamically positioned drillship
1972 - Sedco 445: first "live" exploratory well utilizing dynamic positioning in 1,300 feet of water offshore Brunei
1977 - Sedco 709: world's first dynamically positioned semisubmersible
1984 - Schlumberger acquires Sedco.
1985 - Sedco Forex merger combines offshore and onshore drilling operations of the former Sedco and Forex Neptune into the Sedco Forex drilling division.
1985 - Polar Pioneer of Transocean: world's first fourthgeneration semisubmersible
1986 - Transocean Arctic: world's first rig to drill year-round in the Barents Sea
1989 - Sedco Forex begins $700 million in upgrades to fleet over five years.
1992 - Offshore's parent company, Southern Natural Resources, based in Birmingham, Alabama, changes its name to Sonat. The Offshore Company becomes Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc.
1993 - Sonat spins off its drilling subsidiary with an initial public offering of Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc. (SODI), based in Houston.
1996 - SODI acquires Transocean ASA of Norway for $1.5 billion in stock and cash, creating Transocean Offshore, Inc., and doubling the company's offshore drilling fleet.
1996 - Transocean Leader: first fourth-generation semisubmersible capable of year-round operations west of the Shetland Islands in more than 4,000 feet of water
1997 - Sedco Forex invests $1 billion in new offshore drilling equipment over the next two years.
1997 - Transocean invests $1.4 billion in new offshore drilling equipment over the next two years.
1999 - Schlumberger spins off Sedco Forex, which is merged with Transocean Offshore Inc.
1999 - Transocean Offshore Inc. changes its name to Transocean Sedco Forex.

1999 - Transocean Discoverer Enterprise: first ultra-deepwater dual-activity drillship
2000 - Sedco Express, Sedco Energy and Cajun Express: first fifth-generation semisubmersible rigs
2000 - Deepwater Expedition sets the world water-depth record. 9,144 feet of water
2000 - Deepwater Millennium sets the world water-depth record. 9,200 feet of water
2001 - Discoverer Spirit twice breaks the world water-depth record. 9,727 feet of water 9,687 feet of water
2001 - Discoverer Spirit sets world record for deepest subsea completion. 7,209 feet of water
2003 - Discoverer Deep Seas sets the world water-depth record, becoming the first rig in the industry to drill in more than 10,000 feet of water. 10,011 feet of water
2003 - Polar Pioneer constructs a world-record horizontal well. 23,000 feet
2003 - Deepwater Nautilus sets world record for deepest subsea completion. 7,570 feet of water
2004 - Deepwater Nautilus sets its fifth straight world water-depth record for a moored semisubmersible rig. 8,951 feet of water
2004 - Deepwater Horizon sets world water-depth record for a semisubmersible rig. 9,576 feet of water
2005 - Deepwater Nautilus sets world record for deepest offshore oil and gas well. 32,613 feet True Vertical Depth
2005 - Discoverer Spirit sets world record for deepest offshore oil and gas well. 34,189 feet Measured Depth
2006 - Deepwater Millennium sets four world records for completion operations, the latest in approximately 9,000 feet of water

Updated July 7, 2007