Ensco was recently granted access to ENSCO 69 and the rig has been moved to Trinidad from Venezuela.
Earlier, Ensco terminated its contract for the rig with Petrosucre (a subsidiary of the Venezuela national oil company PDVSA) for non-payment in June 2009.
Petrosucre failed to pay past due invoices and Ensco submitted a notice of termination to Petrosucre, as permitted under the terms of the ENSCO 69 contract.
Petrosucre, which has been operating ENSCO 69 since January 2009, did not return the rig to Ensco and notified the company that it will continue to operate ENSCO 69.
Petrosucre said that it will continue to operate the rig without Ensco’s consent.
Ensco continues to pursue related insurance claims, which the insurers have disputed.
