One New Deepwater Customer and Two Repeat Customers for ENSCO 8500 Series®
Rig
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) announced today that it has entered into a shared
drilling contract for ENSCO 8505 with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation,
Apache Deepwater LLC and Noble Energy Inc. The initial contract term is
for two years or two rotations per operator, whichever is longer, in the
U.S. Gulf of Mexico at a day rate of $475,000, plus cost adjustments.
The contract adds approximately $350 million to revenue backlog. Two
one-year options are at mutually agreed rates.
Delivery of ENSCO 8505 from the Keppel FELS Limited shipyard in
Singapore is scheduled for first quarter 2012 followed by contract
commencement in second quarter 2012 once mobilization, sea trials and
acceptance testing have been completed.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Rabun commented, "We
are very pleased that Anadarko and Noble have chosen to contract a
second ENSCO 8500 Series® rig for their drilling programs.
Apache has been a long-term customer of our jackup fleet and we welcome
the opportunity to expand our relationship with them in the
ultra-deepwater market.
“Our employees who have served these customers in the past are to be
commended for delivering exceptional safety and operating performance –
giving us the opportunity to earn a new, multi-year contract.”
ENSCO 8505 is the sixth of seven rigs in the ENSCO 8500 Series®.
In second quarter 2011, these rigs that operate in South America, Asia
and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico had virtually no downtime and achieved 99%
utilization. Ensco is ranked #1 in overall customer satisfaction and #1
in deepwater drilling by EnergyPoint, an independent survey firm.
The proprietary design of the ENSCO 8500 Series® rigs was
developed with extensive input from customers to address the drilling
requirements for virtually every deepwater field around the world. The
design includes a 35,000’ nominal rated drilling depth, two million
pounds of hoisting capacity, 8,000 tons of variable deck load and an
open layout well suited for subsea completion activities. Improved
visibility from the open deck configuration also enhances safety.
The uniform design of the ENSCO 8500 Series® streamlines
construction, operations, inventory management, training, regulatory
compliance, repairs and maintenance. It also provides flexibility for
customer specific enhancements; in particular, the 8500 Series may be
modified to drill and complete wells in water depths up to 10,000’.
ENSCO 8506, the final rig in the ENSCO 8500 Series®, is
currently under construction in Singapore with delivery scheduled for
the second half of 2012.
Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) brings energy to the world as a global provider of
offshore drilling services to the petroleum industry. We have the
world’s second largest offshore drilling fleet comprised of
dynamically-positioned drillships and semisubmersibles, moored
semisubmersibles and premium jackups. Ensco is ranked #1 for overall
customer satisfaction in the leading independent survey conducted by
EnergyPoint Research with #1 ratings in 14 of 16 separate categories. To
learn more about Ensco, please visit our website at www.enscoplc.com.
Ensco plc is an English limited company (England No. 7023598) with its
registered office and corporate headquarters located at 6 Chesterfield
Gardens, London W1J 5BQ.
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include words or phrases such as
“anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,”
“project,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “will” and similar words
and specifically include statements regarding the timing of delivery,
mobilization, contract commencement, relocation or other movement of
rigs. Such statements are subject to numerous risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to vary
materially from those indicated, including governmental regulatory,
legislative and permitting requirements affecting drilling; downtime and
other risks associated with offshore rig operations, relocations, severe
weather or hurricanes; possible cancellation or suspension of drilling
contracts as a result of mechanical difficulties, performance or other
reasons; and risks inherent to shipyard rig construction, repair,
maintenance or enhancement; actual contract commencement dates. In
addition to the numerous factors described above, you should also
carefully read and consider “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part I and “Item
7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations” in Part II of our most recent annual report on
Form 10-K, as updated in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov
or on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.enscoplc.com.
Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the
particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward looking statements, except as required by law.
Source: Ensco plc