Ensco sells another jack-up rig

Ensco plc  today sold ENSCO 85, a jack-up rig built in 1981, for $64 million. The net book value of the rig was approximately $54 million. The pre-tax gain on this sale was approximately $10 million, which will be included in the second quarter 2014 operating results.

“Year to date, we have sold three jack-up rigs and recently we ordered two ENSCO 140 Series jack-ups,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jay Swent. “Continuous high-grading keeps us at the forefront of industry technology and we continue to have the largest premium jack-up fleet in the world.”

Since the beginning of 2010, Ensco has sold 14 rigs generating pre-tax gains of approximately $90 million. During the same period, Ensco has taken delivery of 12 high-performance rigs, including five Samsung DP3 ultra-deepwater drillships, five ENSCO 8500 Series® ultra-deepwater semi-submersibles and two ENSCO 120 Series ultra-premium harsh environment jack-ups. Ensco has eight additional rigs under construction – five premium jack-ups and three ultra-deepwater drillships – that reinforce the Company’s commitment to standardization.