Valaris has scooped a number of new contracts and contract extensions, adding an associated $466 million to its contract backlog. The company received a 540-day contract with Equinor offshore Brazil for use of drillship Valaris DS-17. The rig will be reactivated for this contract, which is expected to begin in mid-2023.
The total contract value is around $327 million, including an upfront payment totaling $86 million for mobilization costs, a contribution toward reactivation costs, and capital upgrades. The remaining contract value relates to the operating day rate and additional services.
Also in Brazil, Valaris received a contract extension with TotalEnergies EP Brasil offshore Brazil for the use of drillship Valaris DS-15. The option is in direct continuation of the current firm program.
“We are particularly pleased to have been awarded another contract for one of our preservation stacked drillships, Valaris DS-17, and look forward to partnering with Equinor on their flagship Bacalhau project in Brazil,” said Valaris Chief Executive Anton Dibowitz. “We expect Brazil to be a significant growth market for high‑specification floaters over the next several years, and we are well positioned to benefit by now adding a third rig to this strategic basin.”
The contractor also was awarded a two-well contract extension with Woodside offshore Australia for semisubmersible Valaris DPS-1. The two-well extension has an estimated duration of 38 days and will be in direct continuation of the existing firm program for Woodside’s Enfield plug‑and-abandonment (P&A) campaign. The P&A work covers 18 wells in total.
Woodside also awarded Valaris a separate one-well extension for the rig. The work has an estimated duration of 60 days with Woodside’s Scarborough development campaign.
Elsewhere, Shell awarded a 4-year contract for heavy-duty modern jackup Valaris 115 offshore Brunei. The $159-million contract is expected to begin in April 2023.
The contract was also awarded various short‑term deals for jackups with Shell in the UK, an undisclosed operator in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Cantium in the GOM, and GB Energy offshore Australia.