World Record, Moored Rig

Deepwater Nautilus Breaks World Record for Moored Rig

The Deepwater Nautilus Team set the world water-depth record for an offshore drilling rig operating in moored configuration at 8,951 feet of water in Lloyd block 399 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for Shell. The 2004 achievement surpasses the prior world record for a moored rig of 8,717 feet of water set by the Deepwater Nautilus Team in 2003 for Shell in Alaminos Canyon block 857 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The Deepwater Nautilus Team has been setting world water-depth records for a moored unit since the deepwater semisubmersible went on its first location in 2000 for Shell. The team's previous world records, all of which were achieved in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, include the following:

Deepwater Nautilus Team World Moored Water-Depth Records	Location	Year
7,785 feet	Alaminos Canyon 557	2000
8,070 feet	Alaminos Canyon 813	2002
8,009 Feet	Alaminos Canyon 857	2002

The Deepwater Nautilus is one of 13 Transocean 5 th-generation mobile offshore drilling rigs that work in the world's deepest water depths. A multi-operation-class rig, the Deepwater Nautilus can operate within a pattern of eight mooring legs. A 9,400-metric-ton deckload accommodates all the equipment, riser, conductor and casing to start a well and work through setting the BOP on the wellhead quickly and efficiently.

In addition to the world water-depth records for a moored rig, the Deepwater Nautilus Team also holds the world record for  the deepest subsea completion, set recently at 7,570 feet of water on the Shell-operated Coulomb project C-2 well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.