Transocean Announces Contract for Deepwater Pathfinder

Transocean Inc.  announced that its deepwater drillship Deepwater Pathfinder, a single-activity rig capable of drilling in water depths up to 10,000 feet, has been awarded a five-year contract by a subsidiary of Eni for drilling operations primarily in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The contract is scheduled to commence in March 2010 following completion of the rig's existing contract commitments.

Estimated contract revenues that could be generated over the five-year contract period are approximately $1.19 billion. Estimated contract revenues represent the maximum amount of revenues that may be earned in the contract period, excluding revenues for cost escalations.

The Deepwater Pathfinder drillship, which entered service in 1998, is one of 39 High-Specification Floaters in the Transocean fleet, 18 of which are Ultra-Deepwater Floaters capable of drilling in water depths of 7,500 feet or greater.