NEW ORLEANS - Facing an unprecedented Gulf Coast environmental disaster, not to mention lawsuits, oil giant BP told NBC on Monday that while it was taking responsibility for cleaning up the giant undersea leak, the accident that triggered the disaster was not its fault.
"It wasn't our accident, but we are absolutely responsible for the oil, for cleaning it up, and that's what we intend to do," BP Group CEO Tony Hayward told NBC's "TODAY" show.
The rig that exploded on April 20 and then sank was run by another company, Transocean, he reminded viewers. That rig, he said, "was run by their people, their processes."
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Who's Transocean? The plot thickens...
Transocean LTD. NYSE: RIG is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. 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 $142,000 (2006). Transocean's day rates extend as high as $650,000 for its deepwater drillships, which house dual activity derricks and can drill in ultra-deep ocean depths of 10,000 ft (3,000 m).
The company was spun-off from its parent, Birmingham, Alabama based Sonat, Inc. in 1993 and was originally called Sonat Offshore Drilling, Inc. Sonat Offshore acquired the Norwegian group Transocean ASA in 1996 and adopted its name. In 2000 the company merged with Sedco Forex, and was renamed Transocean Sedco Forex. In 2001 the company bought Reading & Bates Falcon. The name of the company was simplified to Transocean in 2003. Sedco Forex was part of Schlumberger until 2000 when it was spun off. Sedco Forex was formed from the merger of two drilling companies, the Southeast Drilling Company (Sedco) and French drilling company Forex.
Transocean employs 26,300 people, and has a fleet of 136 vessels and units (March, 2009). It was incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the principal office is in Houston, Texas. On December 8, 2008, shareholders voted to move its incorporation from the Caymans to Zug, Switzerland.<2> The company has offices in 20 countries, with major offices in Stavanger, Aberdeen, Perth, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia.
On July 23, 2007, Transocean announced a merger with GlobalSantaFe Corporation. The merger was completed on November 27, 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transocean
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