Valaris rig on its way to kick off its gig with Shell

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris is preparing to start its contract with Brunei Shell Petroleum, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered oil major Shell, as a jack-up rig, which was hired for this assignment, has embarked on its journey to Brunei.

After Brunei Shell Petroleum hired the Valaris 115 jack-up rig for a four-year contract offshore Brunei, the rig was coming to the end of its shipyard project in Singapore last month.

In an update last week, the offshore drilling player confirmed that the rig was en route to Brunei to begin operations for Brunei Shell Petroleum. As the rig departed the shipyard on 31 March, it is expected to arrive in Brunei after an estimated ten-day voyage.

The deal with Shell has a total contract value of approximately $159 million and is expected to start in April 2023. Previously, the rig worked for Mubadala Petroleum in Thailand from February 2022 to November 2022.

The 2013-built Valaris 115 heavy-duty modern jack-up rig is of BM Pacific Class 400 design and can accommodate 150 people. The rig’s maximum drilling depth is 30,000 ft.

“We look forward to witnessing this remarkable rig in action, as it is set to begin its contract later this month,” concluded Valaris.

Last year was productive for the offshore drilling contractor and the rig owner reported a robust performance during the fourth quarter of 2022.

The firm also kicked off 2023 with new contracts and extensions for its rig fleet in West Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Trinidad.