As vice-president of the Europe and Mediterranean business unit for Ensco, I have overseen the region’s rig fleet rise from eight to 11 offshore rigs in the space of 18 months.
The fleet will grow further to 12 offshore rigs with the arrival of the ENSCO 122 contracted to NAM in the Dutch Sector of the North Sea during August 2014. This growth is due to the introduction of the ENSCO 120 Series ultra-premium, harsh-environment jack-up rigs and Ensco’s excellent safety and operating track record in the North Sea.
There will be tremendous opportunities for our existing workforce to advance their careers and for new workers to join the Ensco family.
The rapid growth of the Europe fleet means Ensco’s workforce in the region will grow from 650 to more than 1,000 including onshore personnel.
To accommodate this growth, a new office building is being constructed in Aberdeen that will be completed later this year.
The ENSCO 120 Series rigs have unique design features, including an Ensco-patented high-capacity cantilever envelope and a 2.5million-pound quad derrick. These features offer customers significant advantages for drilling development wells in harsh environments to a total drilling depth of 40,000 feet in up to 400 feet of water.
ENSCO 120, ENSCO 121 and ENSCO 122 – the first three rigs in the series – are all contracted for multi-year terms with Nexen, Wintershall and NAM, respectively. All three commence their initial contracts this year. Given exceptionally strong customer demand for the new rig design, Ensco recently ordered the fourth rig in the series, ENSCO123, which is currently under construction in Singapore and is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2016.
At the heart of every good organisation are highly-skilled, competent people ensuring that safety is core in our every day work. Ensco was awarded first place among large jack-up contractors in the annual North Sea safety competition hosted by the International Association of Drilling Contractors. Ensco is also the industry leader in customer satisfaction, ranking first with top honours in the independent industry survey conducted by Energy Point including a #1 ranking in the North Sea for the past three years.