Drilling & Completion News

Valaris announces contracts, extensions spanning Asia Pacific, North Sea; sells 2 rigs for recycling

Valaris recently announced that it was awarded new contracts and contract extensions with an associated contract backlog of approximately $220 million:

• A two-well exploration contract with PETRONAS Suriname for the VALARIS DS-18 drillship. The contract, which follows a previously announced Letter of Award, is expected to commence in Q4 2026 with a duration of up to seven months.
• A new contract offshore Australia for the VALARIS 107 jackup. The contract is expected to commence following its current commitments and has an estimated duration of 300 days.
• A multi-well plug and abandonment contract in the Southern North Sea. The contract is a fleet award under which operations may be performed by any suitable and available rig within the Valaris North Sea fleet. The contract has a commencement window up to December 2030 and an estimated duration of 341 days.
• A contract extension for the VALARIS 122 jackup with INEOS for a project in the Danish North Sea. The contract extension is expected to commence in February 2027 in direct continuation of the existing program and has an estimated duration of 126 days.
• A 31-day contract extension for the VALARIS 248 jackup with Seatrium in the UK North Sea to provide accommodation support services for an offshore wind project. The extension commenced in October 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program.
• An amended contract for the previously announced deal for the VALARIS 72 jackup with Eni in the East Irish Sea. Approximately 8.5 months of the program will now be undertaken by VALARIS 121, which is expected to commence operations in November 2026 in direct continuation of its existing program with another operator. VALARIS 72 is expected to complete its program in March 2027, rather than September 2027.

In addition to these announcements, Valaris also sold the VALARIS MS-1 semi and the VALARIS 111 jackup for recycling in September 2026.

NABEP adds new rigs to boost production in Venezuela

Two 1,500-hp drilling rigs arrived in Venezuela on 7 October for operations by North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP). In addition, the company said it is deploying 11 550-hp workover rigs, marking the first time in more than 15 years that new mobile repair-and-maintenance systems will operate in Venezuelan oil fields.

“NABEP is making serious and steady progress in increasing oil production. Every rig that arrives in Venezuela brings us closer to reaching our production goals and revitalizing our country’s economy,” NABEP CEO Alejandro Betancourt said.

The new equipment purchases follow the August 2026 agreement between NABEP and the US Departments of State and Defense to expand oil production in Venezuela. NABEP holds the rights to commercialize more than 65 billion barrels of P1 oil reserves in Venezuela and has said it plans to invest nearly $100 billion to increase production capacity and improve infrastructure. Its near-term goal is to increase production to more than 1 million barrels of oil per day.

Noble drillship wins 10-well contract offshore Ghana

Noble was awarded a contract by Tullow Oil for the Noble Faye Kozack drillship offshore Ghana. The contract includes up to 10 wells and is expected to commence mid-2027.

The company also announced that its ultra-harsh-environment jackup Noble Intrepid received a one-well contract with ORLEN to drill an exploration well on PL1135. The work offshore Norway is expected to commence in Q3 2027 with an estimated duration of 40-60 days.

Seadrill firms up rig deals in Asia, Angola, US Gulf

Seadrill recently announced contract awards and extensions for the West Carina, West Capella, Sonangol Libongos and Sevan Louisiana.

In Indonesia, the West Carina drillship was awarded a contract with an undisclosed operator, with a total contract value of approximately $420 million for the firm term, including a mobilization fee and excluding additional services. The contract has an estimated firm duration of 880 days, with priced options for up to an additional 880 days. The program is expected to commence in the first half of 2027.

In Malaysia, all remaining priced options have been exercised for the West Capella, extending operations by 120 days and adding approximately $41 million in contract value, excluding additional services. Unpriced options have also been exercised for a further 120 days, adding approximately $53 million in contract value, excluding additional services. The drillship is expected to work in direct continuation through February 2028.

In Angola, Sonadrill, Seadrill’s 50/50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol, has been awarded a contract extension. All remaining priced options have been exercised for the Sonangol Libongos drillship, extending current operations by approximately three years and committing the rig through January 2030.

In the US Gulf, the Sevan Louisiana semi was awarded a 25-day contract with Kosmos, with operations expected to commence in November 2026.