In recent months there have been several second-hand rig transactions in the offshore drilling space with a number rigs changing hands such as Borr Drilling’s acquisition of Transocean’s jackup fleet and Shelf Drilling’s acquisition of three Seadrill jackups. Today marks the first merger between two well-respected offshore drilling contractors. Ensco is acquiring Atwood Oceanics in an all-stock transaction.
“Consolidation has been long overdue and the Ensco-Atwood merger is the first step towards a less fragmented industry," says Liz Tysall, Senior Offshore Rig Analyst at Rystad Energy. "The combined fleet will have 63 rigs – 26 floaters and 37 jackups giving Ensco the largest blended fleet as compared to other offshore drilling contractors with fleets including both floaters and jackups" comments Tysall.
Excluding newbuilds, the average age of the combined floater fleet is less than 10 years while the average age of the jackup fleet is 20 years. According to Rystad Energy’s RigCube database, combined the two companies will have just under 55 years of contracted rig backlog.
