Ensco Sheds More Light on Deepwater Drilling

Ensco (NYS: ESV) is the fourth major offshore driller to release third quarter earnings and, once again, we saw that the market for jackup rigs continues to strengthen. Ensco saw this segment increase by 15%, with a nice spike in dayrates, averaging $109,000 per day, in addition to a boost in utilization rates. The real money starts flowing in the deepwater segment, which produced a bold 43% jump in revenues this past quarter compared to 2011 as dayrates inched over $400,000 per day, and 90% utilization rates.

Looking forward, the industry dynamics are strong through 2013, and with $9 billion in backlog, Ensco is nicely positioned to take advantage of refitting its fleet and lock in lucrative contracts. Check out the video below to see how Ensco compares to its competitors in the ultra-competitive offshore drilling market.

Ensco's earnings gives us a good look into this industry, and we will have to wait until the end of the month for Seadrill to show off its third quarter. If you're an energy investor looking for exciting opportunities, then you should be looking forward to this announcement. To see if you should buy or sell this company, be sure to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of Seadrill, as well as what to expect from the company going forward. Be sure to check out this brand-new premium report put together by one of our top Stock Advisor analysts. Click here to get started.

The article Ensco Sheds More Light on Deepwater Drilling originally appeared on Fool.com.

Joel South has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Taylor Muckerman owns shares of Ensco. The Motley Fool owns shares of Transocean and Seadrill. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Seadrill. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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