Transocean claims record sea depth for oil drilling

The depth was achieved by the ultra-deepwater drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2, surpassing the previous record of 10,011 feet, also set by Transocean in 2003 in the Gulf of Mexico, the group said in a statement.

It set "what the company believes is a world record for the deepest water depth by an offshore drilling rig of 10,194 feet of water while working for Reliance Industries offshore India."

Transocean owned the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded last year in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and triggering a huge spill along the southern US coast.

The disaster also highlighted the growing exploitation of hard to reach and costly deep water fields beneath on the ocean floor, driven by dwindling resources and higher oil prices.

By comparison North Sea fields have been largely exploited at water depths of around 100 metres.

(c) 2011 AFP