The Discoverer Enterprise of Transocean is the first ultra- deepwater drillship with dual activity drilling technology, which aims to reduce the cost of an ultra deepwater development project by up to 40 percent.

This massive, multi-purpose vessel can work in the deepest waters being explored in the world today. It can drill, test and complete wells in water depths of up to 10,000 feet - almost two miles. At 835 feet, the Discoverer Enterprise is almost as long as three U.S. football fields, and it can drill a well more than 6.5 miles beneath its drill floor.

More important, Transocean's patented dual-activity drilling technology has the unique capability to conduct drilling operations simultaneously, rather than sequentially in series. Two full-capability, full-capacity drilling stations - in actuality two separate drilling rigs -- carry out these parallel operations under a single, massive derrick. Two full-sized rotary tables are designed into a drill floor more than twice as large as a conventional one.

An innovative and automated pipe-handling system allows full integration of the two rigs. Each rig can run, pull and stand back 135-foot-long stands of pipe, compared with the 93-foot stands typically used by drillers. As a result, 45% more pipe can be racked and 30% fewer pipe connections have to be made or "broken."

The Discoverer Enterprise also can conduct a wide range of subsea operations, including j-laying of ultra-deepwater pipelines, even during well-construction. What's more, the vessel has extended well-testing and storage capabilities.

To ensure stability offshore, even during a hurricane, the vessel's six, 7,000 horsepower thrusters are controlled by a triple redundant, dynamic positioning system.

The Discoverer Enterprise represents a technical breakthrough for the offshore drilling industry. The vessel's unique drilling methodology is capable of significatly altering the process and subsequently the cost of drilling deepwater wells.

From the top of its twin derricks to the bottom of the deepest waters being explored for oil and gas, the Discoverer Enterprise is yet another reason why there is only one leader in deepwater drilling: Transocean.

• The 835-foot-long rig is nearly as long as three U.S. football fields.
• The rig's height of 418 feet exceeds one U.S. football field.
• Constructed with more than 75 million pounds of steel and other materials -- equal to the weight of more than 1,300 empty flatbed railcars -- the rig displaces over 220 million pounds, or 103,000 metric tons.
• The rig is capable of generating almost 40 megawatts of power, enough electricity for 40,000 homes.
• The rig can drill a well 35,000 feet below sea level, or more than 6.5 miles from the drill floor.
• About 1,600 miles of cable and wiring run throughout the Discoverer Enterprise, the approximate distance from Houston, Texas, to New York City, USA.
• Living quarters can accommodate up to 200 people.