Transocean admits it’s making money off Gulf disaster

While the cleanup cost shoots into the billions, while Gulf Coast residents face the destruction of their livelihood, Transocean counts its money.

The owner of the Deepwater Horizon platform has revealed that it has made $270 million off of the disaster which killed 11 workers and led to over 200,000 gallons of oil per day pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.

The reason for this profit amidst human tragedy and marine destruction: a so-called “accounting gain” derived from the fact that Transocean’s $560 million insurance policy on the platform was more than the actual value of the rig. The company has already collected a $401 million payment with the balance coming in a few weeks.

One website asks how many other rigs are over-insured by Transocean: all of them or only the ones believed to be at greatest risk of blowout (i.e., ones operated by BP)?