Valaris adds exploration, P&A work across drillship and jackup fleet
Valaris secured a letter of award for a two-well exploration program with an undisclosed operator for the drillship Valaris DS-18, with the campaign expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 and run for up to seven months. The company said the DS-18’s previously disclosed contract with Occidental in the US Gulf would begin in direct continuation of the new program rather than in its original mid-Q4 2026 window.
The jackup Valaris 248 picked up two separate awards in the UK North Sea: a 101-day extension with GE Vernova to provide accommodation support for an offshore wind project, and a 41-well plug-and-abandonment contract expected to start in mid-2027 and run for 1,080 days, with two unpriced one-year options attached.
A previously disclosed contract for the 248 with Eni in the East Irish Sea was reassigned to the jackup Valaris 120. Separately, the jackup Valaris 123 won a one-well contract with Central European Petroleum offshore Poland in the Baltic Sea, set to begin in September 2026 for an estimated 110 days, with a priced option for a second well.
Elsewhere in the fleet, the jackup Valaris 110 resumed operations with NOC offshore Qatar in late May 2026 after a suspension tied to conflict in the Middle East, while jackups Valaris 104 and Valaris 109 were sold for combined cash proceeds of $74 million. A previously disclosed one-well contract for the jackup Valaris 106 with Medco Energi offshore Indonesia was terminated by mutual agreement.
