Valaris drillship first in the world to get new ABS electrical system notation

Offshore rig owner Valaris has revealed that ultra-deepwater drillship Valaris DS-12 has become the first vessel in the world to receive the ABS Enhanced Electrical System Notation EHS-E.

The rig owner said on Monday that it had upgraded the vessel’s electrical system to secure the notation, which recognizes sophisticated system design to improve reliability and enhance protection.

As detailed by the rig owner, the Valaris electrical system is specifically designed to allow the drillship to optimize powerplant performance, enabling operations on fewer generators and reducing emissions.

“With this enhanced notation, Valaris DS-12 exemplifies our company’s purpose of providing responsible solutions that deliver energy to the world. I want to recognize our engineers, our partner ABS and thank our customer BP, for their support. This is truly a remarkable team achievement that paves the way to more sustainable deepwater drilling,” said Valaris Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gilles Luca.

According to Valaris’ fleet status report, the DS-12 drillship is under contract with BP in Angola starting this month until January 2022. After that, the rig will operate in Mauritania/Senegal, also for BP, until October 2022. The oil major awarded the four-well contract with a duration of 285 days to the drillship in July 2021.

“It is great to see Valaris become the first to secure this notation, which recognizes their commitment to sustainable operations and investment in advanced electrical systems to increase efficiency. As the world’s leading global offshore Class, ABS is well placed to help forward-thinking operators such as Valaris achieve next-generation operations,” said Matt Tremblay, ABS Vice President, Global Offshore.

The drilling contractor noted that ABS had surveyed the upgraded system and tested it to ensure it can operate on reduced generator power. The short circuit and fault ride-through capability was demonstrated onboard the vessel with ABS in attendance.