Bermuda-incorporated offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured a batch of new drillship and jack-up rig assignments and extensions in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North and South America.Following new deals and extensions, with an associated contract backlog of nearly $900 million, Valaris’ contract backlog increased to approximately $4.7 billion from around $4.5 billion as of October 23, 2025.
Anton Dibowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer,commented: “We delivered revenue efficiency of 98% for the quarter and 96% for full year 2025, marking our fifth consecutive year of revenue efficiency at or above 96%. Our strong operating performance continues to translate into significant contracting success.
Since our last quarterly report, we secured nearly $900 million of additional backlog, further strengthening our robust contract coverage across 2026 and 2027. After addressing the white space on our open drillship capacity earlier this year, we recently announced contract awards for Valaris DS-7 and DS-9, and we expect all ten of our active drillships to be working as we enter 2027, which was a key objective for us.”
The firm’s floater awards entail a five-well contract extension for the Valaris DS-7 drillship with Azule Energy offshore Angola, which is expected to begin in October 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program. This contract has an estimated duration of 325 days and will add approximately $125 million to contracted revenue backlog. The deal also includes a five-well unpriced option with an estimated duration of 300 to 350 days.
The rig owner also won a two-year contract extension for the Valaris DS-9 drillship with Esso Exploration Angola, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, which is scheduled to start in July 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program. The operating day rate is perceived to be in line with recent market rates in the region. This deal also includes two six-month options.Valaris landed a multi-year contract for the Valaris DS-8 drillship with Shell offshore Brazil. The deal is set to commence in the first quarter of 2027, with an estimated duration of approximately 800 days and a total contract value of about $300 million. The contract also includes options with an estimated duration of around a year.