Deepwater Nautilus is an ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig.
Built in 2000 in South Korea, she is owned by Transocean, registered in Vanuatu, and currently leased to Petronas at the rate of $140,000 per day for drilling operations in Malaysia.[1]
Deepwater Nautilus is a fifth-generation, RBS-8M design, ultra-deepwater, column-stabilized, semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, designed to drill subsea wells for oil exploration and production.[2]
She was designed by Reading & Bates RBS-8M and built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2000 at the Ulsan shipyard in South Korea. Deepwater Nautilus can operate at water depths up to and has drilling depth down to .[3]
In 2000, Deepwater Nautilus set the world water-depth record for an offshore drilling rig operating in moored configuration at at the Alaminos Canyon block 557 in the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico.[4]
In 2002, Deepwater Nautilus discovered oil at the Shell-operated Great White oil field in Alaminos Canyon block 813.[5]
On March 6, 2002, she drilled a well in water depth of at the Great White field (Alaminos Canyon block 857).[6]
In the same year, the new record was set at while drilling at the Alaminos Canyon block 813.[4]
This record was surpassed in 2003 by water depth of at the Alaminos Canyon block 857.[7]
In 2004, the water-depth of was achieved in Lloyd block 399.[4]
In March 2009, Deepwater Nautilus discovered oil at the Appomattox prospect in Mississippi Canyon blocks 391 and 392.[8]
In 2004, at the time of Hurricane Ivan Deepwater Nautilus broke free from its location.[9]
In 2005, as a result of Hurricane Katrina Deepwater Nautilus had drifted off location. All personnel had been safely evacuated before the approach of the storm.[10]
The rig's mooring system revealed significant damage and the rig lost approximately of marine riser and a portion of the subsea well control system.[11]
Less than a month later, Deepwater Nautilus broke free during Hurricane Rita.[12]