ENSCO history

Rainwater served two years at Goldman, Sachs, & Co. as a trader, and then in 1970 went to work for the Basses as a financial advisor.

His attention, however, was soon fixed on the drilling company, due to a domestic exploration boom that resulted from the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo.

Founding the Company in 1975

Starting in late 1978 Blocker Energy made a major commitment to exploration by investing more than $50 million.

When Sedco merged with Schlumberger in 1984, Thorne became president of the resulting drilling group.

Richard Rainwater's Investment in 1986

In May 1987 John Blocker stepped down as chief executive officer, although he remained chairman until his retirement in November of that year.

ENSCO was more successful, however, in the transportation area, in 1988 paying $22 million to acquire Golden Gulf Offshore Inc. for ten boats that supplied offshore oil rigs and another four vessels that moved the rigs' massive anchors.

1992: The name is changed to ENSCO International Incorporated.

Anticipating increased demand for premium jackup rigs, ENSCO initiated a rig enhancement program in 1994.

ENSCO's technical services business was divested in 1995.

1996: Dual Drilling Company is acquired.

At the end of 1998 ENSCO had posted five consecutive years of improved earnings.

In a 1999 interview with Oil & Gas Investor, Thorne explained: "The industry's movement into the deep water is an evolution, not a revolution.

In December 2000 the rig went into service in the Gulf of Mexico.

Early in 2003 management announced that it was selling its 27-vessel fleet of support ships located in the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans-based Tidewater Inc., owner and operator of more than 550 vessels used to support offshore drilling.

Also in 2005, the company opened an office in Watervliet, New York.

In April 2011, the company acquired the IData and IGL 178 product lines from Quantum3D.

In 2012, Ensco’s growing financial stature was recognized when it was added to the S&P 500 index.

In July 2015, the company received a contract to build a track inspection vehicle for Roy Hill Infrastructure in Western Australia.

In March 2017, the company was awarded a $74 million contract by the United States Air Force to provide modeling software and engineering support.

In January 2018, Paul W. Broome, the founder of the company, died.