International offshore drilling contractor Ensco is planning to cut about 350 of offshore jobs as the company plans to stack more rigs amid the downturn in the offshore oil and gas market. The job cuts were revealed in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission reported by the Houston Business Journal. Ensco is based in London but its operations are managed out of its … [Read more...]
BP Terminates Contract For ENSCO DS-4 Drillship, Semi-Submersible
ENSCO announced on Monday the receipt of a termination notice for their ultra-deepwater drillship DS-4 which is currently on contract to BP in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The original contract for the 2010-built drillship was scheduled to last until July 2016, however BP has decided to cut that short by 12 months upon completion of their current well program. Under the terms … [Read more...]
HERO to Zero
Dan Dicker, Energy contributor at TheStreet.com, talks with Jim Cramer about the recent downgrade of Hercules Offshore to bankruptcy by Deutsche Bank. With only a few of its rigs currently in service and several destined to finish contracts soon, the cash flow at HERO looks dire. But who is likely to be the next victim of depressed oil prices? No other offshore driller … [Read more...]
SPOTD: ENSCO 8502 Under Tow by the Kurt J Crosby
Yesterday afternoon, the semi-submersible drilling rig ENSCO 8502, under tow by the KURT J CROSBY and the SIGNET WAR HORSE, arrived at Mustang Island Block 740, near the Corpus Christi sea buoy. The tow was escorted by the M/V CROSBY COURAGE and Adriatic Marine's ARABIAN. Crosby notes in an emailed statement to gCaptain: "The two Crosby tugs successfully completed the tow, … [Read more...]
ENSCO to Cold Stack Ultra-Deepwater Rig
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Offshore driller Ensco Plc said it would shut down an ultra-deepwater rig as demand dwindles due to a slump in crude prices, a day after it slashed its quarterly dividend by 80 percent. The company's shares fell nearly 8 percent to their lowest in six years. Ensco reported a fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, compared with year-ago profit, hurt mainly by … [Read more...]
ENSCO 8502 Encounters Problems on Tow to Corpus Christi [UPDATE]
![ENSCO 8502 Encounters Problems on Tow to Corpus Christi [UPDATE]](https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ENSCO-8502-207x125.jpg)
After a fire damaged three of the six main engines on board the ENSCO 8502 drilling rig about a week ago, the rig has pulled its stack and is now under tow to the shipyard in Corpus Christi, Texas. All did not go as planned however, as the towing vessel Kurt J Crosby lost power on Friday and for a yet unknown reason, the rig began to flood. Miles Clements, an attorney … [Read more...]
ENSCO Drilling Rig Catches Fire
gCaptain sources report this afternoon the ENSCO 8502 deepwater drilling rig suffered a fire today while operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the report noting installed CO2 was engaged to put out a fire in one of the rig's two engine rooms. The were no injuries reported, the rig is currently stable and anchored to the sea floor being held … [Read more...]