The ENSCO Sextuplets
There are no doubt scores of 15 to 20-year-old 180-ft. supply boats that still have years of useful life… if renovated by skillful and creative marine engineers. That is what ENSCO Marine Company, Broussard, La. has done with a six-pack of vintage supply boats whose day rates and utilization had slipped due to age and limited carrying capacity for their size. ENSCO Marine is a division of ENSCO International, a Dallas, Texas-based drilling contractor who owns and operates 56 drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Asia Pacific and South America. ENSCO Marine operates 23 offshore supply boats and five anchor handling tugs.
ENSCO Sells Marine Vessel Fleet to Tidewater
ENSCO International Incorporated announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell all of the oilfield support vessels owned by the Company's subsidiary, ENSCO Marine Company, to Tidewater Inc. for $79 million in cash. The transaction, which is expected to result in a pre-tax gain of approximately $5 million to ENSCO, ($0.02 per diluted share after taxes), is subject to various regulatory consents. It is anticipated that the transaction will close early in the second quarter of 2003. Carl F. Thorne, ENSCO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, explained the strategic reasons for the transaction. "Although ENSCO Marine has performed well for us over the years, further renewal and growth of our boat fleet would require significant new investment.
