* Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Gulf of Mexico rig that blew up, faces big questions

While much of the focus in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been on BP’s cleanup efforts, the company that owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon rig that BP leased is also under scrutiny.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday looks at the safety record of Transocean Ltd., a giant in the deepwater drilling industry.

“It had been honored by regulators for its safety record. The very day of the blast on the rig, executives were aboard celebrating its seven straight years free of serious accidents. But a Wall Street Journal examination of Transocean's record paints a more equivocal picture,” the Journal reports.

“Nearly three of every four incidents that triggered federal investigations into safety and other problems on deepwater drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico since 2008 have been on rigs operated by Transocean, according to an analysis of federal data. Transocean defended its safety record but didn't dispute the Journal's analysis,” the story continues.

BP and other oil industry executives may discover this week just how heavy the boot at their throats can get.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Sunday that the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill helps make the case for passage of the climate change and energy bill that he’s rolling out May 12 with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Lieberman said on “Fox News Sunday” that he believes the bill can pass this year despite plans to include measures that promote offshore oil-and-gas drilling, noting “I think we’ve got a real shot at this.”

“The oil spill in the gulf reminds us of a couple of things. The first is that we need to transition our energy system to one that doesn't depend on oil,” Lieberman said.

“But in the meantime, as we're making the transition, which our bill would accelerate and create millions of new jobs in our country and make us energy independent, we've got to continue to use our domestic energy resources, because every barrel of oil we get from American offshore or onshore is one barrel less we are paying for to enemies of the United States around the world,” he added.

The U.S. Coast Guard official overseeing Gulf of Mexico oil spill response said there are currently low odds of the oil reaching the Gulf’s “Loop Current,” a dreaded scenario that could carry the spill into the Florida Keys and the Atlantic Coast.

“That [the Loop Current] is significantly south of the southern edge of the spill right now,” Commandant Admiral Thad Allen said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“I think it is a very, very low probability it will be impacted,” Allen added. He noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is studying the issue. “It does not appear to be a threat right now,” he said.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Coast Guard will next week formally launch their joint investigation into the April 20 Gulf of Mexico drilling rig explosion and oil spill.

The joint investigation – which gets underway with public hearings in Kenner, Louisiana on May 11-12 – will “identify the factors leading to the explosion, loss of life, sinking, and subsequent oil spill.”

The accident at the Deepwater Horizon rig – which was own and operated by Transocean Ltd. and leased to oil giant BP – killed 11 workers and unleashed a massive spill that BP and government agencies are struggling to contain.

Some oil industry executives are planning an unusual defense against bills that would raise the liability cap on companies responsible for offshore disasters: raise our taxes instead.

Lee Fuller, the vice president of government relations for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said oil companies may back an 18 to 25-cent per barrel tax that would support a government fund to reimburse business, local communities and other interests damaged by oil spills.

An 8-cent per barrel tax is now collected. That has left $1 billion to cover economic damages, but some experts believe even that amount is unlikely to cover the effects of the massive Gulf spill.  

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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Friday disputed Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) claim that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill should prompt a pause in efforts to advance energy and climate legislation.

Gibbs noted that gasoline prices -- which typically rise with the onset of summer -- will create a “very public impetus” for legislation. Gibbs also told reporters that the spill shows that “with what you see is going on in the Gulf, you understand that drilling and drilling alone isn’t going to solve our energy problems.”

“So I think, quite honestly, the time is . . . more ripe than it ever, in all honesty, has been,” Gibbs said.

Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman will unveil their long-awaited climate and energy bill on Wednesday, May 12.

Over in our Blog Briefing Room, Michael O'Brien reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) believes the Gulf of Mexico oil spill should prompt the Senate to pause efforts to pass energy legislation.