Transocean hires U.S. lobby firm to work Congress

 By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd (RIGN.S), one of the companies under fire over the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has hired a new lobby firm to represent its interests in Congress, according to public records.
Capitol Hill Consulting Group, chaired by former U.S. Representative Bill Brewster of Oklahoma, registered as a lobbyist for Transocean on May 10, a day before the Swiss-based company began appearing before the Senate and House of Representatives oversight committees to answer for the leaking BP Plc (BP.L) well.
The disaster threatens to engulf oil giant BP, Transocean and other companies involved in the offshore drilling industry in a new era of government scrutiny and regulation.
Capitol Hill Consulting declined to comment on its new role. Transocean officials were not immediately available for comment.
Transocean is the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana last month, setting off a huge oil leak that is still spewing crude from 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) beneath the ocean surface.
Congressional investigators concluded this week that a rig device designed to cut off the flow of oil after an explosion was faulty.
Executives for BP and subcontractor Halliburton Co. (HAL.N) appeared alongside Transocean President Steven Newman this week at hearings on Capitol Hill.
The lobbying firm's registration document names Brewster as one of three who will actively represent Transocean on environmental, natural resources and energy issues.
The former Democratic lawmaker served in Congress from 1991 through 1997. In 1994, Brewster formed a caucus of lawmakers from oil-producing states called the Congressional Oil and Gas Forum, and served as its first chairman. He also was a founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition, an influential group of pro-business congressional Democrats.
Transocean moved its headquarters to Switzerland from Houston in 2008 to save on taxes and get closer to its Eastern Hemisphere clients.
The company has not been a prominent political spender up to now. Since 2008, the company has spent less than $100,000 lobbying Congress on tax issues, documents filed with the Senate Office of Public Records show.
Transocean employees and other associated individuals have also spent a little more than $10,000 in campaign contributions to members of the House and Senate, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. (Editing by David Storey)