Valaris (NYSE: VAL) has mobilised its 123 jack-up rig for work with Ithaca Energy, Shell and TAQA in the North Sea which could keep it busy for the next two years.
The Valaris 123 arrived at the Erskine field with Ithaca on Sunday, according to marine traffic data, having been in Dundee since November with maintenance early this year.
Ithaca announced the one-well contract in January, with a minimum value of $6.3m.
Once clear of the Ithaca Energy work, the Valaris rig is scheduled to drill the hotly-anticipated Selene and Pensacola wells for Shell and Deltic Energy, expected to kick off in July.
An exploration well will be drilled on Selene – a prospect targeting 53 million barrels of oil equivalent (p50).
Shell is also drilling an appraisal on the Pensacola discovery, confirmed last year as the largest discovery in the Southern North Sea, with 72.6 million barrels of oil equivalent in a gas and oil case.
The rig is then scheduled to work for UAE state-owned TAQA in the Dutch sector on a CCS contract for a minimum of 170 days for the Porthos carbon capture and storage programme.
When combined with its options, the deal could keep the rig in work until Q1 of 2026.
According to Valaris’ latest fleet status report, the firm has nine rigs in work in the UK North Sea, with another – the Valaris Viking – stacked in Dundee.
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