Transocean Inc. and ChevronTexaco announced that the Transocean drillship Discoverer Deep Seas has set a new world water-depth drilling record by spudding a well in 10,011 feet of water in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The record -- set while constructing ChevronTexaco's Toledo well in Alaminos Canyon block 951 -- marks the first time in the offshore drilling industry's history that a drilling rig has explored for oil and natural gas in more than 10,000 feet of water.

The previous world water-depth drilling record was 9,727 feet of water in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico by another Transocean drillship, the Discoverer Spirit, in October 2001 working for Unocal.

The Discoverer Deep Seas and its sister drillships, Discoverer Spirit and Discoverer Enterprise, incorporate and use Transocean's patented dual-activity technology, which saves time by allowing drilling tasks to be performed in parallel, rather than sequentially as with conventional offshore drilling rigs.