Transocean execs get bonuses for safety

SAN FRANCISCO, (AP) - 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 millions gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Those actions prompted a U.S. official, investigating the Deepwater Horizon, to comment publically towards Transocean. The head of a U.S. presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill says the company whose rig exploded a year ago "just doesn't get it."

Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly says bonuses awarded to executives of Transocean Ltd. underscores the commission's finding that lax standards caused the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Reilly, former Sen. Bob Graham and Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar met Monday with Mexican officials to coordinate regulations for drilling in the gulf.

Transocean reported in a regulatory filing that its most senior managers were given two thirds of their total possible safety bonus. It noted "the tragic loss of life" in the Gulf when the rig operated by BP 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. The filing was made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

Here's a link to the S.E.C. website set up for the public to search for information about publicly-traded companies themselves:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html