Transocean Ltd., the company that owns the GSF Development Driller 1 oil rig stopped off Abaco, told Guardian Business via its Manager of Corporate Communications Pam Easton that the rig - which caused consternation when it was first spotted in Bahamian waters around December 24, 2014 - is "a Transocean rig that is bunkering in transit".
Bunkering is industry terminology that involves the process of supplying a ship with fuel: either the selling of fuel from specialized vessels designed for that particular task, or transferring fuel from one ship to another.
It is not clear whether such activity is permitted or unauthorized in Bahamian territorial waters, or whether permission required for such activity - if any - was sought and obtained from the government of The Bahamas.
When we pressed for more information, given that there no other vessels have been observed near the rig and that it has been stationary for a week or so, Guardian Business was directed to Transocean's monthly Fleet Update Summary for December online for further information.
The summary explained that the rig had been awarded a two-year contract in Angola by ExxonMobil at a day rate of $382,000. The rig was previously idle, according to the summary.
Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. The company owns or has partial ownership interests in, and operates a fleet of, 73 mobile offshore drilling units consisting of 46 high-specification floaters (ultra-deepwater, deepwater and harsh environment drilling rigs), 17 midwater floaters and 10 high-specification jackups. In addition, the company has seven ultra-deepwater drillships and five high-specification jackups under construction.

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