Valaris books $498 million Project Raia drillship contract
Written by Nick Blenkey
Image: Valaris
Drilling contractor Valaris Limited (NYSE: VAL) reports that it has been awarded a multi-year contract with Equinor Energy do Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Equinor ASA , for its drillship Valaris DS-17. The contract relates to work offshore Brazil on Project Raia. Equinor’s project partners are Repsol Sinopec Brazil (35%) and Petrobras (30%).
Equinor says that Project Raia is one of its main natural gas projects. Located in the Campos Basin, Raia comprises three different pre-salt discoveries: Pão de Açúcar, Gávea and Seat. They contain natural gas and oil/condensate recoverable reserves of above 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The gas export capacity is 16 MSm3/d and, according to Equinor, may represent 15% of the total Brazilian gas demand at start-up.
Equinor says that the drilling activities are planned to start-up in 2026. The objective is to drill six wells leading up to production starting in 2028.
Valaris DS-17 is an ultra-deepwater drillship, capable of operating in water depths of more than 3,600 meters,
“We are pleased to secure a drillship for the important Raia project. We will be working together to achieve safe and efficient operations, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation with Valaris. We will be building on our experiences from Bacalhau in the next years to come,” said Mette H. Ottøy, chief procurement officer at Equinor.
Valaris says that the estimated total value of the Valaris DS-17 contract is approximately $498 million, inclusive of MPD, additional services and fees for mobilization and minor rig upgrades. The contract has an estimated total duration of 852 days.
The contract includes a 672-day drilling program that is expected to commence in the first half of 2026.
The drillship will be on standby for an estimated duration of 180 days between the end of the rig’s current program and the beginning of the operating period.
During the standby period, the drillship may be available for work both inside and outside Brazil, which could lead to incremental revenue.
“This contract award is a testament to the quality of our crews and the collaborative nature of our relationship with Equinor,” said Valaris president and CEO Anton Dibowitz. “We are grateful to Equinor for the investments they have made in leading-edge safety and automation technology on Valaris DS-17 and the trust they have placed in us to execute their development programs offshore Brazil. In addition, this contract further underscores our track record of delivering high-performing assets following a reactivation.”
“We continue to execute our commercial strategy by securing new contracts at higher day rates and consistently building our backlog as evidenced by this multi-year drillship contract,” Dibowiz added. “We see strong customer demand for work that is expected to commence in 2025 and 2026 that will continue to support our anticipated earnings and cash flow growth over the next few years.”
