Exxon Awards Valaris 21-well GOM Contract

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris plc reported late Monday that it has won a 21-well contract with ExxonMobil Corp.

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris plc reported late Monday that it has won a 21-well contract with ExxonMobil Corp.

The estimated 295-day contract – for the Valaris JU-87 (Ensco 87) jackup rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) – is set to commence this month, Valaris noted in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. The ExxonMobil award is one of several contracts and contract extensions that Valaris has secured since Oct. 25, 2019, the drilling contractor revealed. In all, the firm stated the Valaris JU-87 contract and the awards below will add approximately $285 million of revenue to its backlog.

Valaris stated that other contracts and contract extensions from the past month include:

• EnVen exercised a one-well option to extend its contract for the Valaris DS-18 (Rowan Relentless) drillship in the U.S. GOM. The estimated 45-day contract extension is set to run from February to March 2020. Valaris added that it has won a two-well contract for the drillship from an undisclosed operator in the U.S. GOM. It expects the estimated 180-day contract to commence next June.
• Eni awarded Valaris a one-well contract for the Valaris DS-15 (Rowan Renaissance) drillship slated to commence this month, with an estimated 30-day duration. Valaris added that CNOOC has contracted the drillship for a two-well contract offshore Mexico. The drilling contractor stated the estimated 160-day CNOOC contract should commence in April 2020.
• ConocoPhillips exercised a six-well priced option to extend its contract for the Valaris JU-292 (Rowan Norway) jackup offshore Norway. The estimated 300-day extension is slated to run from May 2020 to late-February 2021, Valaris stated.
• Repsol extended by approximately 50 days its accommodation services contract for the Valaris JU-290 (Rowan Viking) jackup offshore Norway, from early February to late March 2020.
• Chrysaor extended by one year its contract for the Valaris JU-249 (Rowan Gorilla VII) jackup in the North Sea, from November 2019 to November 2020.
• Eni awarded Valaris a 12-well offshore Mexico contract for the Valaris JU-144 (Rowan EXL II) jackup. Valaris expects the estimated two-year contract period to start in April 2020.
• Shell exercised a one-well priced option to extend by 150 days its contract for the Valaris JU-122 (Ensco 122) jackup in the North Sea. Valaris stated the extension period should run from November 2020 to April 2021.
• An undisclosed operator offshore Trinidad exercised a two-well priced option to extend its contract for the Valaris JU-117 (Ralph Coffman) jackup. Valaris expects the estimated 60-day extension to run from February to April 2020.
• Mubadala Petroleum exercised a four-month priced option to extend its contract for the Valaris JU-115 (Ensco 115) jackup offshore Thailand from March to July 2020.