Drillship books two-well exploration program
Valaris has secured a letter of award for a two-well exploration program with an undisclosed operator for the drillship Valaris DS-18. The campaign is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 and run for up to seven months. The company said DS-18's previously disclosed contract with Occidental Petroleum in the US Gulf will now begin in direct continuation of the new program, rather than in its original mid-fourth-quarter 2026 window.
North Sea jackup awards
The jackup Valaris 248 picked up two separate awards in the UK North Sea. One is a 101-day extension with GE Vernova to provide accommodation support for an offshore wind project. The other is a 41-well plug-and-abandonment contract expected to start in mid-2027 and run for 1,080 days, with two unpriced one-year options attached. A previously disclosed contract for the 248 with Eni in the East Irish Sea was reassigned to the jackup Valaris 120.
Baltic Sea, Qatar and fleet changes
The jackup Valaris 123 won a one-well contract with Central European Petroleum offshore Poland in the Baltic Sea, set to begin in September 2026 for an estimated 110 days, with a priced option for a second well. The jackup Valaris 110 resumed operations with NOC offshore Qatar in late May 2026, after a suspension tied to conflict in the Middle East.
Jackups Valaris 104 and Valaris 109 were sold for combined cash proceeds of $74 million. A previously disclosed one-well contract for the jackup Valaris 106 with Medco Energi offshore Indonesia was terminated by mutual agreement.
