Ensco plc is Now in Possession of ENSCO 69

Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) reported today that it is now in possession of ENSCO 69, a jackup drilling rig that was reclassified as discontinued operations in second quarter 2009. As previously reported, 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 advised that it would continue to operate the rig without Ensco’s consent.

Ensco personnel recently were granted access to ENSCO 69 and the rig has been moved to Trinidad from Venezuela.

Ensco continues to pursue related insurance claims, which the insurers have disputed, as disclosed in the Company’s second quarter 2010 SEC Form 10-Q. No ENSCO 69 related insurance receivables were recorded on the Company’s balance sheet as of June 30, 2010.

Ensco brings energy to the world as a global provider of offshore drilling services to the petroleum industry. With a fleet of ultra-deepwater semisubmersible and premium jackup drilling rigs, Ensco serves customers with high-quality equipment, a well-trained workforce and a strong record of safety and reliability. To learn more about Ensco, please visit our website at www.enscoplc.com. Ensco plc is an English limited company (England No. 7023598) with its registered office and global headquarters located at 6 Chesterfield Gardens, London, W1J 5BQ.

Statements contained in this news release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, anticipations, projections, confidences, 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 and statements regarding the Company’s pursuit of insurance claims related to ENSCO 69.

Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include failure to secure insurance recoveries related to pending insurance claims regarding ENSCO 69, and other risks described from time to time as Risk Factors and otherwise in our 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 the Investor Relations section of our website at www.enscoplc.com.

All information in this press release is as of today’s date unless otherwise noted. 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.