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Transocean to Pay $400 Million in Criminal Penalties for Criminal Conduct re Deepwater Horizon

Second Corporate Guilty Plea Obtained by Deepwater Horizon Task Force Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty to a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced yesterday.In total, the amount of fines and other criminal penalties imposed on Transocean are the second-largest environmental crime recovery in U.S. history - following the historic $4 billion criminal sentence imposed on BP Exploration and Production Inc. in connection with the same disaster."Transocean's guilty plea and sentencing are the latest steps in the department's ongoing efforts to seek justice on behalf of the victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster," said Attorney General Holder. "Most of the $400 million criminal recovery - one of the largest for an environmental crime in U.S. history - will go toward protecting, restoring and rebuilding the Gulf Coast region.""The Deepwater Horizon explosion was a senseless tragedy that could have been avoided," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Eleven men died, and the Gulf's waters, shorelines, communities and economies suffered enormous damage. With today's guilty plea, BP and ...

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Transocean to Pay $1 Billion in Civil Penalties and $400 Million in Criminal Fines

For its conduct in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties, for its conduct in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced yesterdayTransocean Deepwater Inc. has signed a cooperation and guilty plea agreement with the government admitting its criminal conduct. As part of the plea agreement, Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed, subject to the court's approval, to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties and to continue its on-going cooperation in the government's criminal investigation.In addition, pursuant to the terms of a proposed partial civil consent decree also lodged with the court yesterday, Transocean Ocean Holdings LLC, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., Transocean Deepwater Inc. and Triton Asset Leasing GMBH have agreed to pay an additional $1 billion to resolve federal Clean Water Act civil penalty claims for the massive, three-month-long oil spill at the Macondo Well and the Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. Under the civil settlement, the Transocean defendants also must implement court-enforceable measures to improve the operational safety and emergency response capabilities at ...

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Chevron, Transocean charged in Brazilian oil spill

Charges against Chevron and drill-rig operator Transocean for November oil spill A Brazilian federal prosecutor filed criminal charges on Wednesday against Chevron and drill-rig operator Transocean for a November oil spill, raising the stakes in a legal saga that has added to Chevron's woes in Latin America and could slow Brazil's offshore oil boom.Prosecutor Eduardo Santos de Oliveira also filed criminal charges against 17 local executives and employees at Chevron and Transocean, owner of the world's largest oil rig fleet. Among the defendants is George Buck, 46, a U.S. national in charge of Chevron's operations in Brazil, the prosecutor's office said in a statement."The spilling of oil affected the entire maritime ecosystem, possibly pushing some species to extinction, and caused impacts on economic activity in the region," Santos de Oliveira, a prosecutor in the oil district of Campos de Goytacazes, said in the filing. "The employees of Chevron and Transocean caused a contamination time bomb of prolonged effect."The charges stem from a 3,000-barrel leak in the Frade field, about 120 km (75 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. They include: failure to realize protocols to contain the leak; failure to take steps to kill the well and ...

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Transocean Expects More Indictments Tied To Deepwater Incident

So far the U.S. government has brought criminal charges only against one BP employee Transocean Ltd. (RIG, RIGN.VX) expects more indictments to issue from the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal investigation on the Deepwater Horizon incident, targeting Transocean, Halliburton Co. (HAL) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) employees, a Transocean executive said Tuesday.So far the U.S. government has brought criminal charges only against one BP employee."We fully expect that ourselves and BP and Halliburton and other employees will be indicted," said Greg Cauthen, Transocean's interim Chief Financial Officer, during a broadcast presentation to investors. Cauthen said he didn't know what charges the U.S. government would bring, but "it's something we take very seriously." Transocean is well prepared to defend itself in court, although it's also open to a fair settlement, Cauthen said.Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded and sank in April 2010 while working for BP in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.Cauthen also said that Transocean, which has seen its profits squeezed by downtime related to equipment overhauls mandated by regulation that followed the Deepwater Horizon blast, is working to have that downtime accounted for in its contracts with oil producers."We are negotiating improved contractual terms," Cauthen said, including ...

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Chemical board’s power to investigate Gulf oil spill to be tested in court

Transocean argue that Chemical Safety Board does not have jurisdiction to investigate the case Transocean's challenge to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's ability to investigate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and resultingGulf oil spill gets a hearing in a Houston court on Wednesday. Transocean, the owner of the rig has argued that the Chemical Safety Board does not have jurisdiction to investigate offshore chemical spills.The safety board contends it can investigate chemical releases and explosions both onshore and on the offshore outer continental shelf, which is where the Transocean rig was located when it exploded the night of April 20, 2010, killing 11 men onboard and beginning the largest accidental offshore oil spill in history.Transocean has refused to honor the board's investigative subpoenas and other requests for information, while other responsible parties, most notably BP, have not challenged the board's authority, the board said. The board contends its investigation is seeking to cover ground not addressed by already completed investigations by the Interior Department, Coast Guard, Marianas Islands, a presidential panel, BP and others.U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal will hear motions on the case Wednesday in Houston.Source: David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

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Chevron, Transocean face $11 bln Brazil lawsuit

New lawsuit re an oil leak discovered on March 4 in Chevron's offshore Frade field A Brazilian federal prosecutor on Tuesday launched his second 20 billion real ($10.9 billion) lawsuit against U.S. oil company Chevron and driller Transocean, doubling the stakes against the companies as critics call him as overzealous.The new lawsuit, the prosecutor's second civil case against the companies in less than five months, is related to an oil leak discovered on March 4 in Chevron's offshore Frade field northeast of Rio de Janeiro, the Federal Public Prosecutor's office said in an email.The new lawsuit, filed in federal court in Campos, north of Rio de Janeiro, also seeks to prevent Chevron and Transocean from operating in Brazil, transferring Brazilian profits overseas, obtaining government-backed finance and moving equipment from the country, the statement said."The second leak is as serious or more serious than the first, so the damages have to be in the same category," Santos de Oliveira told Reuters. "While they are not a simple mathematical calculation, they are not symbolic either."Chevron and Transocean's activities may have damaged the Frade reservoir, making it impossible to produce from the field, denying Brazil its right to royalties on a public resource, ...

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DCD Marine Completes Modifications on Transocean’s Drillship

Manufacture and installation of new lifeboat davits and the lifeboat platforms Transocean's Deepwater Millennium vessel recently left the Port of Ngqura near Port Elizabeth after undergoing a number of upgrades and modifications by DCD Marine.The Deepwater Millennium vessel is a Samsung/Reading & Bates designed, dynamically positioned drillship capable of drilling in water depths up to 2 468 metres (upgradable to 3 048 metres) and to depths of 10 000 metres below the sea surface.DCD Marine has an established track record with regard to upgrades of a similar magnitude on vessels in the same class. Not only were they able to competently and expeditiously carry out the specified work packages, but they also have experience in working in the Port of Ngqura, having recently completed work on the Odfjell Drilling Rig, Deepsea Stavanger.The Port of Ngqura was selected due to the fact that, not only it is on the direct path of the Deepwater Millennium's final destination in Mozambique, but also because it has a draft of 16 metres, which is suited to the vessel's minimum required depth of 15 metres."Transocean were amply satisfied with the facilities made available by DCD Marine to undertake the required modifications," says Gerry Klos - ...

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BP must cover some Transocean oil spill damages

New trial to apportion blame for the Macondo well blow out A federal judge on Thursday said BP Plc must indemnify Transocean Ltd for some compensatory damage claims over the 2010 Gulf ofMexico oil spill.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who oversees multistate litigation over the spill, agreed with Transocean that the Swiss driller was not responsible for compensatory damage claims raised by third parties for oil spilled below the ocean surface.He also ruled, however, that London-based BP need not indemnify Transocean for punitive damages, or civil penalties imposed by the U.S. government under the federal Clean Water Act.Thursday's decision reduces the potential liability Transocean faces over the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion that caused 11 deaths and the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.Transocean owned the rig, while BP owned a majority of the Macondo well whose blowout led to the spill.Shares of Transocean rose 8.9 percent in after-hours trading, and BP shares fell 0.6 percent."Indemnification from compensatory damages is key for Transocean," whose litigation exposure is now "materially diminished," UBS Securities LLC analyst Angie Sedita wrote in a research note. She has a "buy" rating on Transocean.Sedita said BP has estimated its Clean Water Act ...

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