INBOX: Letters from our customers

FIRST EXCELLENCE AWARDS
GALLERY: 11th Annual FIRST Excellence Award Meet and Greet

GALLERY: 11th Annual FIRST Excellence Award Ceremony

Deepwater Horizon Memorial
GALLERY: Memorial Sculpture Photos

NORWAY
GALLERY: Onboard the Polar Pioneer

GALLERY: Onboard the Transocean Leader

GALLERY: Around the Norway Office

PHOTO CONTEST
GALLERY: 2010 Photo Contest Winners

AROUND RIG
GALLERY: Vision Rollout – Shots from Global Employee Meetings (Houston)

GALLERY: Vision Rollout – Shots from Global Employee Meetings (Rio)

GALLERY: Vision Rollout – Shots from Global Employee Meetings (Cairo)

GALLERY: Vision Rollout – Shots from Global Employee Meetings (Mumbai)

VIDEO: Deepwater Champion – Pioneering Offshore Drilling

GALLERY: HR Open House

INBOX: Letters from our customers

Transocean John Shaw – North Sea

> Editor’s note: The following note was written after the crew overcame a very difficult hole section. Performance Ops Manager Colin Leach had this to say: “Excellent job in getting the 7" liner safely down and cemented. The challenges and adversity thrown at you with a very stick hole section that almost (permanently) grabbed the string a number of times is recognized, of equal importance is how you all faced and overcame this and got it all out and run the liner safely is an outstanding achievement of well delivery for our customer.”

I hAVE TO TAKE MY HAT OFF TO YOU. That is a quite phenomenal achievement. You should be very proud of what you’ve delivered in getting that section drilled, cased, and cemented. I’m not big on back slapping, but this one deserves a big well done. Brilliant job.

NEIL ROBERTSON
Operations Manager, SPD Ltd

Transocean Comet – Egypt

I WANT TO PASS ON MY APPRECIATION for the great job done by the Comet team in successfully completing the trip out of hole on SB 293-A1. It probably felt more like an “expedition” than a “trip!”

This was a difficult, critical operation that could easily have resulted in a stuck pipe incident. This successful outcome was the result of attention to detail being paid by the drillers and rig floor supervision along with exemplary team work. Patience coupled with a lot of hard work were also critical factors. I’m very aware of the long hours put in by a number of people and the concentration required by the drillers and rig floor supervision over the past days.

Next step is for our Drilling Engineers and Sub Surface team to perform some work to understand what has led to the poor hole condition and put a plan in place to improve the situation.

The Comet is also currently enjoying a good safety record. I’m a firm believer that by paying attention to safety and complying with policies processes and procedures the result is success both in terms of safety and also operational performance. Please ensure that my thanks are passed on to all involved particularly on the Comet.

PHIL PRESTRIDGE
Drilling General Manager, GUPCO

Arctic I – Brazil

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO visit the Arctic I on October 6. I was extremely impressed with the professionalism and safety commitment of everyone onboard. The management of HSE on the rig has improved markedly over the last year and that is a credit to everyone who works on the Arctic I.

The Arctic I may not compare with the latest sixth-generation semisubmersible rigs in terms of equipment specification, but it has delivered operational performance of the highest quality on Shell’s BC10 project and set a large number of industry technology firsts – this can only be a reflection of the quality, attitude and commitment of the all of the people who work on the Arctic I.

During my visit I was particularly impressed with focus and progress on the dropped objects prevention program in areas such as control of lifting equipment, preventative maintenance, and remediation of the 1,400 action items from the DROPs audit.

The Arctic I has provided excellent service to Shell on the BC-10 project, and as the contract draws to an end I would like to thank everyone involved. Once again thanks for the opportunity to visit.

PETER SHARPE
Executive Vice President , Shell International

Trident 8 – Gabon

TODAY WE ARRIVE AT THE END OF THE contractual period for the Trident 8. On behalf of my colleagues and the management of Total Gabon I would like to thank each and every one of you for having worked so hard to complete the [Anguille drilling] campaign in a safe and effective manner. Your commitment to improving the safety culture on board the rig has been very evident. At each visit, we have been impressed by your participation in the START program and the THINK planning process. [This resulted] in the rig working for nearly eight months without a single injury.

It has also been very noticeable that the operational performance of the rig has improved enormously since the start of the drilling campaign in March. The last twßo wells were drilled 16 days in advance of the planned duration: Well done! I wish you a very safe campaign with Perenco.

MICHAEL RYAN
Drilling and Completions Manager, Total – Gabon

GSF Adriatic VIII – Nigeria

> Editor’s Note: The rig ended 15 years of service to ExxonMobil in June 2010. Here’s what some of our customers had to say:

I WANT TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION to you and your teams on the Adriatic VIII for their fine service over the last several years. It’s unfortunate that we are ending our relationship with that rig in Nigeria, but fitting that it leaves us with a string of 308 Hurt Free Days (so far). That’s an excellent run and indicative of the focus on safety that we mutually share. Stay safe!

ROD HENSON
Drilling Operations Manager, ExxonMobil

WE WILL BE RELEASING THE RIG AFTER 15 plus years continuous service for MPN. The staff of the rig has been a key component of the Nigeria Drill Team’s (NDT) journey of “Nobody Gets Hurt” that began in December 1999. The AD8 has set numerous records and received many commendations during this tenure. Since 2007, when we started tracking the weekly global Catch of the Week, the rig has been awarded a catch on 37 different occasions. They made a huge step toward “Nobody Gets Hurt” when the rig achieved the current NDT record of 507 consecutive pain-free days between September 16, 2007, and February 5, 2009.

Our pain free days this morning (June 21) were at 302. We are projecting a Friday release of the rig, and are all focused on a final tally of 306 pain-free days.

MIKE BRUEGGER
Operations Superintendent, ExxonMobil – Nigeria

THE AD8 WAS ONE FINE RIG. THE ONE that all of us wanted on. Getting on that rig was like getting a promotion. … Through all the VIII was a safe rig with one of the best attitudes toward safety of any rig I have been on. The crews of the VIII were the main contributor to that. Please wish the hands well for me, and good luck in the future.

ED YOUNT
Lead Senior Drilling Supervisor, ExxonMobil – Sakhalin

GSF Monarch – North Sea

AT THE END OF AN ALMOST 10-YEAR period of working together with the Monarch team in the Southern North Sea, I wish to thank the entire team for the achievements in this period.

In reflection I see the most remarkable successes of this working relationship in two areas:• The Monarch team was involved in developing and applying the UBD technique to work on tight gas reservoirs in our Southern North Sea fields.• For a long period this unique technique, which required effort and dedication to develop whilst ensuring it was applied safely, has been a cornerstone of our Southern North Sea activities.

In more recent years, when the Monotowers were introduced, the team was asked to transform to a more conventional drilling team to work on our small fields. Not surprisingly the successes surfaced when we learned how best to work on integrated projects and as a result, field life of the remaining smaller accumulations in the Southern North Sea was further extended.

In the process we learned a lot from successes and mishaps. By following it up properly we made the activities and worksite safer and more efficient.

Finally, I am very happy with the performance on the last well, AME 205B. This well will probably go into the books as the most challenging prospect in our portfolio in the last decade. In two previous attempts to drill this prospect we were unsuccessful due to unexpected events. We can now claim victory and it is worthwhile to memorize this: the well was delivered and is producing as a top quartile well, 34 days ahead of schedule without incidents.

The Monarch team can be proud of this performance and it is clear evidence this team can outperform itself and work safe.

On behalf of all of us in NAM [Shell’s Dutch oil and gas joint venture] and UIE [UpstreamInternational Europe], I wish the Monarch team all the best in the future.

Appreciate if you could convey this message and my words of thanks to the entire team.

WILLY OUDE ESSINK
Well Delivery Leader (NAM UIE), Shell

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