Transocean drills in record water depth off India

A rig owned by Transocean Ltd has drilled in the deepest-ever water depth off India, eclipsing a record set eight years before in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said on Monday.

Transocean said its Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 rig drilled in 10,194 feet (3,107 meters) of water while working for Reliance Industries Ltd, topping the prior record of 10,011 feet set in 2003 by the Discoverer Deep Seas, working for San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.

The Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2, named after Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani, entered service last year in a five-year contract with India's largest listed company.

Transocean also holds the record for the world's deepest overall well in the Gulf of Mexico, announcing in September 2009 that its Deepwater Horizon drilled a 35,050-foot well for BP Plc in 4,130 feet of water - eight months before a blow-out destroyed that rig and killed 11 people.