Bermuda-incorporated offshore drilling contractor Valaris has won a wave of new offshore drilling contracts and extensions spanning the North Sea, Australia, and Suriname, while divesting two aging semi-submersible rigs for recycling.
Valaris has been awarded new contracts and extensions, with an associated contract backlog of approximately $220 million, subsequent to issuing its previous fleet status report on August 5, 2026. This contract backlog excludes lump sum payments such as mobilization fees and capital reimbursements. The drilling player also sold the Valaris MS-1 and Valaris 111 rigs for recycling in September 2026.
The company’s floater segment has added a new two-well exploration contract to its list of assignments. This deal with Petronas Suriname Exploration & Production, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Petronas, for the Valaris DS-18 drillship follows a previously announced letter of award (LoA).
The deal is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 with a duration of up to seven months. The contract backlog excludes additional services that may be provided and billed separately, as well as compensation for mobilization and demobilization.
The rig owner’s jack-up segment has also been bolstered by new awards, as Valaris won a contract offshore Australia for the Valaris 107 jack-up rig. This job, which is expected to start following its current commitments, has an estimated duration of 300 days. The company emphasizes that the contract backlog of approximately $50 million excludes compensation for mobilization and demobilization but includes priced options.
The firm announced a multi-well plug and abandonment (P&A) contract in the Southern North Sea, under which operations may be performed by any suitable and available rig within the offshore drilling player’s North Sea fleet. The assignment, with a commencement window up to December 2030, has an estimated duration of 341 days.
The contracted revenue backlog is estimated to be $41.5 million and is subject to an annual cost escalation mechanism effective from the contract execution date. This deal also includes a one-well option with an estimated duration of 19 days.
Valaris has picked up a contract extension for the Valaris 122 rig with INEOS for a project in the Danish North Sea, which is expected to begin in February 2027 in direct continuation of the existing program and has an estimated duration of 126 days. The operating day rate is $115,000, and this deal comes with additional options with an estimated total duration of 699 days for work in the UK and Danish North Sea.
A previously announced assignment for the Valaris 72 rig with Eni in the East Irish Sea (UK) has been amended, with approximately eight and a half months of the program now to be undertaken by the Valaris 121 rig, which is expected to start operations in November 2026 in direct continuation of its existing program with another operator.
The Valaris 72 jack-up is now expected to complete its program in March 2027, rather than September 2027. As a result, the amendment increases contract backlog by approximately $17 million.
Valaris also disclosed a 31-day contract extension for the Valaris 248 rig with Seatrium in the UK North Sea to provide accommodation support services for an offshore wind project, which began in October 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program and added about $2.5 million to contracted revenue backlog.