Sedco 706:Transocean halt lifted

Sedco 706



Brazil has lifted an injunction to suspend offshore drilling by contractor Transocean, relating to a November 2011 oil spill in the Frade offshore field northeast of Rio de Janeiro.

Chevron had contracted Transocean's Sedco 706 rig, but Brazil's oil regulator ANP said in a July report that Transocean had no responsibility for the spill.

If it had remained, the injunction would have shut down Transocean's 10 drilling rigs operating in Brazilian waters, eight of them under contract by Petrobras, by Oct. 27. The court said there are 72 rigs operating in Brazil.

Fischer accepted ANP's argument that losses in revenue to Petrobras and the government in royalties would amount to more than 6.7 billion reais ($3.8 billion) over two years if Transocean's rigs were suspended from operating."The original injunction was groundless and targeted Transocean unfairly," a Transocean spokesman said. "The company and its employees were completely exonerated by ANP's investigation which concluded that the leak resulted from geological factors and was totally unrelated to the actions of the Transocean rig crew."

The Transocean ban is related to a lawsuit seeking nearly $20 billion from it and Chevron Corp .
The ban on Transocean remains in force in Frade. Chevron and Transocean say they were not negligent in the spill and are fighting the lawsuits and related criminal charges.
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[August 3]A Brazilian court on August 1 ordered Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Transocean to halt their activities in Brazil in 30 days or face daily fines of 500 million Brazilian reais ($250 million). The court decision is part of ongoing cases related to a drilling accident last November at the Chevron-operated Frade offshore oil field. The accident caused an estimated 3,700 barrels of crude to seep from cracks in the seabed. Chevron voluntarily halted production at the field in March, when a second set of seepage was discovered at the field.
Magda Chambriard, head of the ANP, said during a Senate hearing that irregularities in the company's activities found by a Brazilian court were "light" and they "weren't reason for the discontinuing of the company's operations," according to comments posted on the Senate's website.

[December 12,2011] Brazil sues Transocean for $10.6 billion:The suit, which includes Chevron, could jeopardize oil companies' plans to step up their presence in Brazil after the discovery of huge offshore reserves several kilometers (miles) beneath the ocean floor estimated at 50 billion barrels or more.

Reaching that oil will be technically challenging but Brazil expects it will push its crude output to 7 million barrels a day by 2020. That could see it challenge the United States for the rank of world No. 3 oil producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia.

It also risks alarming foreign oil companies eager to expand in one of the world's fastest-growing oil frontiers, where state-controlled oil company Petrobras accounts for more than 90 percent of the output, and government leaders are moving to assert even greater control of natural resources.

Sedco 706: ANP decision on Chevron Frade field

"The elements evaluated and described by the National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANP), in its report show in detail that the accident could have been avoided if Chevron had conducted its operations in full compliance with regulations, in accordance with good practice in the oil industry and with its own procedures manual. ...Thus, there is no doubt that if Chevron had properly managed the uncertainties of geology, the risk analysis had been performed in accordance with the rules and respected the basic assumptions of safety, the accident could have been avoided."


[November 25, 2011]
Chevron's drilling rights have been suspended by Brazil's National Petroleum Agency after on evidence that the company had been "negligent" in its study of data needed to drill and in contingency planning for abandoning the well in the event of accident.


The agency, known as ANP, rejected a request from Chevron made before the leak to drill wells in the deeper subsalt areas in the Frade field where the spill occurred. The field is located in the oil-rich Campos Basin and is the only block in Brazil where Chevron produces oil as the operator. The only rig working for Chevron off Brazil is Transocean Ltd's Sedco 706, which drilled the well that leaked.


The Campos Basin is currently the source of more than 80 percent of Brazil's oil output.


While Chevron said lon November 23 it had not received formal notice of the drilling halt, the company announced an indefinite voluntary suspension of all current and future drilling off Brazil, apart from plug and abandonment work.


"Chevron acknowledges, however, that ANP has posted a notice of suspension to its website," the company added. more back

Sedco 706: Transocean Ld. has Chevron indemnity

Transocean's drilling services contract with Chevron for the SEDCO 706 requires Chevron, among other things, to indemnify Transocean for pollution or contamination based claims arising below the surface of the water. more

Sedco 706: leak nothing to do with Transocean

The leak, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state. was the result of an underestimate of pressure in the offshore oil reservoir that was the target of their drilling and an overestimate of the strength of undersea rock.

As a result, high pressure oil was able to leak into the well bore hole. While the well was immediately shut off, the pressure from the so-called "kick" caused the bore-hole wall to crack and oil to seep through crevices and porous rock to the seafloor and then up into the ocean.

Chevron owns 52 percent of Frade, which is producing about 79,000 barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent a day, and is the fields operator. Petrobras owns 30 percent and a Japanese Group known as Frade Japan owns 18 percent.

The well, which is being abandoned, was drilled by Transocean from their Sedco 706 rig. Buck said the problems at the well "had nothing to do with Transocean."

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Sedco 706: Transocean rig at Brazil leak site

Chevron Corp. (CVX), the second-largest U.S. energy company, said it has halted an oil leak at the Frade project off the coast of Brazil after plugging a well.

“Fluid flow from the well appears to have ceased. The well probably contributed to the seeps that have been the source of an oil sheen that appeared on the surface of the ocean.

Chevron said yesterday that it planned to use cement and mud to seal a fissure in the sea floor that was the suspected source of the oil leak. As much as 882 barrels of crude had reached the surface, Brazil’s oil regulator, known as ANP, said yesterday, citing Chevron.

The company contracted Transocean’s Liberian-flag Sedco 706 rig to drill an appraisal well in the Frade field 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Rio de Janeiro, The SEDCO 706 is a dynamically-positioned Sedco 700 design semi-submersible drilling unit capable of operating in moderate environments and water depths up to 2,000 m (6,562 ft)* using 18¾” 10,000 psi BOP and 21” OD marine drilling riser. here

Chevron, which has 51.74% interest, started production at Frade field in 2009. Partners in the field are Petroleo Brasileiro SA 30%, and Frade Japao Petroleo Ltda., a joint venture of Inpex Corp., Sojitz Corp., and Japan Oil, Gas & Metals Corp. 18.26%.