Transocean sets deep-water record

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ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Rig owner Transocean said it set a record for the deepest water depth by an offshore rig off the eastern coast of India.

Transocean said its drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 passed its own 2011 record by 191 feet by drilling in water depths of 10,385 feet. The record was set while the company was working with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. off the country's eastern coast.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in New Orleans approved a $1 billion civil settlement with Transocean, which leased its Deepwater Horizon rig to BP for work in the Gulf of Mexico.

A blowout at the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico sparked an explosion that sank the rig in 2010. That killed 11 rig workers and resulted in one of the worst oil spills in the history of the industry.

Transocean admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to failing to investigate whether the failed Macondo well was secured properly.

There was no statement on the latest court decision from Transocean, which has headquarters in Switzerland.