Ensco plc Shortens Tender Period to 5.30pm Oslo Time for Scorpion Offshore Ltd Shares

Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) announced that it has shortened the tender period to 5.30pm Oslo time for the partial tender of Scorpion Offshore Ltd shares in light of rumors in the marketplace.

Scorpion Offshore shareholders who want to accept the Offer must contact Matthew Cyzer (telephone +44 20 7774 8333) or Matthew Stanton (telephone +44 20 7552 9865) at Goldman Sachs International or Gaute Ulltveit-Moe at Arctic Securities (telephone +47 21 01 32 00) by 5.30 p.m. Oslo time on 28 May 2010.

The partial tender offer is not being made and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other jurisdiction in which the making of the partial tender offer would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. Any and all materials related to the partial tender offer should not be sent or otherwise distributed in or into the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan, whether by use of the United States mail or by any means or instrumentality of United States, Canadian, Australian or Japanese commerce (including, but without limitation, the mail, facsimile transmission, telex, telephone and the Internet) or any facility of a United States, Canadian, Australian or Japanese national securities exchange, and the partial tender offer cannot be accepted by any such use, means or instrumentality, in or from within the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. Accordingly, no materials related to the partial tender offer will be, and must not be, sent or otherwise distributed in or into or from the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan or, in their capacities as such, to custodians, trustees or nominees holding shares of Scorpion Offshore for United States, Canadian, Australian or Japanese persons, and persons receiving any such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not distribute or send them in, into or from the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. Any purported acceptance of the partial tender offer resulting directly or indirectly from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid. No shares of Scorpion Offshore are being solicited from a resident of the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan and, if sent in response by a resident of the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan, will not be accepted.

Ensco plc is a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. Headquartered in London, England, Ensco is a global offshore contract drilling company. Its American Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ESV." Ensco is one of the leading providers of offshore contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry. Ensco's offshore rig fleet includes 39 jackup rigs, four ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs and one barge rig. Additionally, Ensco has four ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. Its operations are concentrated in the geographic regions of Asia Pacific (which includes Asia, the Middle East and Australia), Europe and Africa and North and South America. The Ensco group of companies employs approximately 3,600 people worldwide. The principal executive office of Ensco is located at 6 Chesterfield Gardens, London W1J 5BQ England. Ensco's telephone number is +44 (0) 20 7659 4660, and its website is www.enscoplc.com. If the partial tender is successful and the other conditions satisfied, any voluntary or mandatory offer will be made through an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ensco.

Statements contained in this press release that state the Company's or management's intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs, expectations, anticipations, projections, confidence, schedules, or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward-looking statements include words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "could," "may," "might," "should," "will" and words and phrases of similar import.

The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements about the contemplated acquisition of Scorpion Offshore, the contemplated further steps to gain full control of Scorpion Offshore if the partial tender is successful, and the potential failure or withdrawal of the partial tender offer.

Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including failure to successfully complete the partial tender offer, material adverse changes in Scorpion Offshore's business, governmental and court orders and other factors, including risks as described from time to time as Risk Factors in the Company's SEC filings.

Copies of such SEC filings may be obtained at no charge by contacting our Investor Relations Department at 214-397-3045 or by referring to our website at www.enscoplc.com. All information in this press release is as of today. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement, to conform the statement to actual results, or reflect changes in the Company's expectations.