Hat-trick for Valaris rigs with one new deal aimed at CO2 project

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured three new contracts for its drilling rigs. One of the contracts will involve operations on a carbon storage project in the Netherlands.

Valaris has been awarded a contract with TAQA offshore the Netherlands for Valaris JU-123, a heavy-duty harsh environment jack-up. The contract is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2021 with an estimated minimum duration of 60 days.

The contract is for the preparation of a wellbore for the Porthos CO2 transport and storage project, which is aimed at capturing and storing carbon emissions from Rotterdam Port. The project will collect emissions from factories and refineries and store them in empty gas fields in the North Sea.

In conjunction with this contract, Valaris JU-123 will be upgraded with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. When in operation, the SCR system will eliminate almost all NOx and SOx emissions from the rig.

The rig has been under contract with Harbour Energy off the UK since October 2020, which is set to expire this October, according to the rig owner’s latest fleet status report.

The rig has also been awarded a one-well contract with Cairn Energy in the UK North Sea. The contract is expected to start in the second quarter of 2022 with an estimated duration of 72 days.

As previously reported, Valaris has also been awarded a one-well contract with Carnarvon Petroleum offshore Timor-Leste for Valaris JU-107, a heavy-duty modern jack-up. The contract is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2021 with an estimated duration of 30 days. The rig will work on the Buffalo-10 well.

The Valaris JU-107 worked for SapuraOMV from May until June 2021 off Australia. Since then, the rig has been under contract with Jadestone, also off Australia, and this contract is set to expire in October 2021.