UPDATED 18:29 PM EST, January 9, 2013
At a brief hearing before a federal magistrate in New Orleans, Transocean attorneys didn't enter a plea on the company's behalf to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act.
Transocean has agreed to pay $400 million in criminal penalties, plead guilty to the charge and pay $1 billion in civil penalties. It isn't expected to enter the plea until next month.
