Ensco sees one contract terminated as three rigs go to scrapyard

UK-based driller Ensco has won new contracts for a number of its drilling rigs but has also lost one contract and scrapped three rigs. 

In a fleet status report released on Monday, the driller said that Ensco 8504‘s contract with Repsol has been terminated due to force majeure.

The semi-submersible was supposed to start operating offshore Vietnam in April under a contract with an end date in October 2018. However, Repsol’s subsidiary, Talisman Vietnam, which is the operator of the Ca Rong Do field in the South China Sea off Vietnam, was in March ordered not to carry out the scheduled work program on the CRD Project amid pressure from China.

Ensco also said in the fleet status report it had sold three of its rigs for scrap value, namely the semi-sub Ensco 7500, and jack-ups Ensco 81 and Ensco 82.

Further according to the report, a contract for the semi-submersible Ensco 8503 with Deep Gulf Energy in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has been extended by two wells, with an estimated total duration of 130 days. Option wells have been transferred from Ensco 8505 semi-sub.

On the other hand, Ensco 8505 has been awarded a one-well contract with Eni in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that is expected to start in May.

Ensco 8505 has also been awarded a two-well contract with Marubeni in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that is also expected to start in May. This contract is set to end in June after which the rig will work for Stone Energy, also in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jack-ups

In the jack-up segment, the Ensco 108 rig, which is currently unemployed and staying in Singapore, is expected to work for an unnamed operator in the Middle East from 4Q 2018 to 4Q 2021.

The Ensco 68 rig has been awarded a three-well contract with Energy XXI in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that is expected to start in May 2018. The rig has also been awarded a two-well contract with Castex Energy in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that is expected to start in July and end in October 2018.

The jack-up rig Ensco 72 awarded a seven-well contract with Petrofac in the UK North Sea that is expected to begin in April and complete in September this year.

The contract with Neptune Energy in the North Sea for Ensco 101 has been extended by three wells, with an estimated total duration of seven months. The rig will drill one well in a period until May and the other two wells in a period from September until January 2019.

It is worth noting that the rig’s contract with Engie has been transferred to Neptune Energy, following its acquisition of Engie E&P International last February.

Ensco 101 has also been awarded a one-well contract with Nautical Petroleum in the North Sea that is expected to start in July 2018 during a break between the first and second well of the Neptune Energy.

Finally in the jack-up segment, Ensco 121‘s contract with Ineos in the North Sea has been extended by one well, with an estimated duration of 14 days. The rig still has three one-well priced options. The contract is set to end in July this year.

Finally, two of Ensco’s drillship recently started on new contracts.

Drillship Ensco DS-10 has started a one-year contract with Shell offshore Nigeria during March.

Another drillship, Ensco DS-7, started a six-well contract with Noble Energy offshore Israel during April 2018. The contract ends in December 2018.

Offshore Energy Today Staff