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<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=maintitle><B><FONT size=5>Transocean gives bonuses
for ‘best year in safety’</FONT></B></SPAN>
<P align=justify><SPAN class=abody><B><BR><BR>By Jordan
Robertson</B></SPAN><SPAN class=abody> <BR><BR>Associated Press</SPAN><SPAN
class=abody> <BR><BR>SAN FRANCISCO – Transocean Ltd. gave its top executives
bonuses for achieving the “best year in safety performance in our company’s
history” – despite the explosion of its oil rig that killed 11 people and
spilled 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.<BR><BR>The company
said in a regulatory filing that its most senior managers were given two-thirds
of their total possible safety bonus.<BR><BR>Transocean noted “the tragic loss
of life” in the Gulf when the rig operated by BP PLC exploded last April. But it
said the company still had an “exemplary” safety record because it met or
exceeded certain internal safety targets concerning the frequency and severity
of its accidents, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission</SPAN><SPAN class=abody> on Friday.</SPAN><SPAN class=abody> Safety
accounts for a quarter of the executives’ total cash bonuses. The total bonus
for CEO Steve Newman last year was $374,062.<BR><BR>Transocean’s Deepwater
Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers
and set off the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. A commission
appointed by President Barack Obama earlier this year said the explosion was
caused by a series of time- and money-saving decisions by Transocean, BP and oil
services company Halliburton Inc. that created an unacceptable amount of
risk.<BR><BR>In the regulatory filing, the company said its bonuses were
appropriate as a way to recognize its executives’ efforts in “significantly
improving the company’s safety record” and implementing a new internal planning
system.<BR><BR></SPAN><BR><BR></P>
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