Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Must Turn Over Records Says Barbier

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) has been ordered by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to turn over safety records that encompass other rigs they had in the Gulf of Mexico at the time of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig it had been leasing to BP (NYSE:BP).

In the early part of November, Transocean, which had been resisting pressure to turn over the documents concerning other rigs in the region, said that the request was "overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant and not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence" in the ongoing investigation of the Deepwater Horizon. That was in response to a subpoena issued on October 21.

Transocean said in a prepared statement, "Our focus is on finding the cause, preventing future accidents and improving industry standards. While we do not believe this ruling and discovery will advance those goals, we will, as always, respect and comply with the court's instructions."