Drilling rig operator Valaris has secured a series of new contracts and contract extensions worth some $181 million in backlog.
The company has secured awards with four major oil and gas operators across three regions since late February, the company said Wednesday.
Two-year contract extensions with BP in the US Gulf of Mexico were awarded for managed rigs Mad Dog and Thunder Horse, with effective as of January 27, 2022.
Valaris also reported a one-well extension with TotalEnergies EP Brazil, for its Valaris DS-15 drillship. The option well is in direct continuation of the current firm program and has an estimated duration of 100 days.
In the Middle East, ARO Drilling awarded the group a three-year contract with Saudi Aramco for its VALARIS 140 jack-up.
This contract falls under a previously announced three-year bareboat charter agreement between Valaris and ARO Drilling, and is included in the $181m in contract backlog, Valaris said.
In addition, the client for a contract awarded to the Valaris DS-11 drillship covering an eight-well campaign at a deepwater project in the US Gulf of Mexico with TotalEnergies has been replaced with Equinor.
Valaris said no material changes to the contract resulted from the novation, including with respect to the termination provisions in the event the project does not receive final investment decision (FID).
Valaris added that the jack-up Valaris 67, built in Clydebank in Scotland in 1976, has been sold and retired from its drilling fleet. The 72m rig is currently cold stacked in Indonesia, according to data from Infield Rigs.
The company emerged from bankruptcy last year, and appointed a new chief executive in December.
In February the company posted a sizable increase in backlog, but said its “transitional period” would continue into the second quarter of this year as it deals with costly rig reactivations.