Valaris Scores BP, TotalEnergies Contracts for Brazil, Indonesia Drilling

Valaris Ltd. has won contracts from BP PLC and TotalEnergies SE for drilling programs offshore Brazil and Indonesia, with a total contract backlog of $65 million.

The Valaris DS-15 rig has been tasked with one BP well in Brazil. The contract is expected to start in the first half of 2024 lasting for an estimated 80 days, Valaris, an offshore drilling company incorporated in Bermuda, said in a press release. The drillship has already been deployed in the South American country under an earlier contract this year given by TotalEnergies, according to Valaris' fleet status report published August 1.

In another contract, Valaris said, "A previously disclosed exercised priced option with TotalEnergies offshore Brazil for drillship VALARIS DS-15 is now expected to be undertaken in direct continuation of the aforementioned BP contract".

The optional extension is projected to begin in the second or third quarter of next year with an expected operation of around 100 days. The value of this contract, which has a daily rate of $254,000, is not included in the $65 million backlog.

Valaris also expects to execute another optional contract extension from BP Indonesia for heavy-duty modern jackup Valaris 106 starting January and lasting for an estimated one year. "The operating day rate is $85,000 effective from January 6, 2024, increasing to $95,000 from January 6, 2025", Valaris said.

Earlier it announced it had won a 12-well contract offshore West Africa for Valaris DS-7. Estimated to be $364 million, the contract is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2024, Valaris said in a news release July 31.

“This most recent award represents the seventh contract awarded to one of our high-quality floaters requiring reactivation since mid-2021 and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs and delivering operational excellence for our customers", Valaris president and chief executive Anton Dibowitz said in a statement about the African contract.

"We continue to take a disciplined approach to rig reactivations, and we expect this contract to generate a meaningful return over the initial firm term”.

On July 5 Valaris announced new contracts and contract extensions for drilling in Australia and the USA with a total backlog of $150 million.

Semisubmersible Valaris DPS-5 has been tapped by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for the USA Gulf of Mexico. The contract was to start July 2023 for a 60-day operation. After this, the same rig was to be employed September 2023 in the same area for at least 110 days by Apache Corp. The nine-well contract is for a plugging campaign.

In Australia, heavy-duty modern jackup Valaris 107 has been contracted by two unnamed companies. One of the contracts, with a duration of 180 days, is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024 while the other, with a duration of one year, is expected to start October 2024.

Another undisclosed Australian company has called up heavy-duty, ultra-harsh environment jackup Valaris 247 for a two well-contract expected to start mid-2024. The contract has a daily rate of $180,000 for an operation projected to last 100 days.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com