In addition to the recent Bonga contract extension in Nigeria, Valaris said that the company has been awarded a 12-well contract offshore West Africa for drillship VALARIS DS-7, which will be reactivated for this contract. The Company also announced that it is increasing its 2023 share repurchase target from $150 million to $200 million.

The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2024 and has an estimated duration of 850 days. The total contract value is estimated to be $364 million. The contract requires minimal customer-specific upgrades to the rig and does not include the provision of any additional services.

The drilling company reported in its fourth quarter results on February 20 2023 stated that Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co. (Snepco) has extended the contract for the DS-10 drillship. Snepco had held the rig under a contract running from April 2022 to April 2023. The new contract will extend the duration until March 2024.

Shell’s deepwater unit is using the rig for infill drilling around its Bonga FPSO.

Valaris has reported the average dayrate for its fleet in 2023 to be $251,000. This rises to $316,000 per day for 2024.

 “This most recent award represents the seventh contract awarded to one of our high-quality floaters requiring reactivation since mid-2021 and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs and delivering operational excellence for our customers. We continue to take a disciplined approach to rig reactivations, and we expect this contract to generate a meaningful return over the initial firm term,” President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said. 

“In May, we announced an increase in our share repurchase authorization to $300 million and our intent to repurchase $150 million of shares by year-end 2023. To date, we have repurchased $91 million of shares. As a result of this attractive contract award and our continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders, we are increasing our 2023 share repurchase target from $150 million to $200 million,” Dibowitz added. 

Valaris was created by the combination of two leading offshore drillers with decades of experience and knowledge to create the most capable, effective and highest performing offshore drilling service company in the world.  Valaris provides drilling services across all water depths with unmatched scale, geographic presence and customer relationships.  The company has diverse rig fleet of ultra-deepwater drillships, versatile semisubmersibles and modern shallow-water jackups is capable of meeting a wide spectrum of customers’ well program requirements.