Offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured a new assignment for one of its drillships with the UK-headquartered energy giant BP. Thanks to this deal, the drillship will carry out operations offshore Egypt.
Valaris disclosed on Monday that its drillship Valaris DS-12 was awarded a four-well contract with BP for work offshore Egypt. This deal is expected to start late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2023 and has an estimated duration of 320 days. The offshore drilling contractor reveals that the estimated total contract value, inclusive of a mobilisation fee, is $136.4 million .
Anton Dibowitz , Valaris President and Chief Executive Officer, remarked: “We are honoured that BP has chosen Valaris DS-12 for their upcoming development campaign offshore Egypt. The rig has a long and successful track record with the customer, having worked for BP in several locations offshore Africa, including Egypt, over the past three and a half years. We look forward to partnering with BP on another successful campaign.”
Previously, the 2013-built rig worked for BP in Angola from September 2021 to March 2022. The rig also secured another contract with the oil major for operations offshore Senegal and Mauritania , with an estimated duration of 285 days, in July 2021. The deal started in April 2022 and it is expected to end in December 2022, according to Valaris’ fleet status report .
The 780-foot Valaris DS-12 drillship was built by DSME Okpo shipyard in Geoje, South Korea and can accommodate 200 people. The rig’s maximum operating water depth is 12,000 ft while its maximum drilling depth is 40,000 ft.
“We retain significant operating leverage to the improving deepwater market through our fleet of 11 drillships, including three uncontracted high-specification rigs Valaris DS-7, DS-8 and DS- 11, plus attractively priced purchase options for newbuild rigs Valaris DS-13 and DS-14,” added Dibowitz.
When it comes to Valaris’ recent activities, it is worth noting that one of its rigs recently completed its task in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) with Murphy Oil and moved to Mexico to embark on new drilling assignments, which were secured earlier this year.