Rigs report: Transocean inks US$1.2Bn in deals; Valaris contract backlog passes US$500M

Shell has hired Stena Drilling’s mobile offshore drilling unit Stena Don on a year-long firm deal commencing Q2 2023. The oil major has an option to extend the contract for up to an additional year in direct continuation from the firm scope. Works taking place in the UK Continental Shelf and well activities include a combination of plugging and abandonment work and drilling development wells. 

Shell also awarded Norwegian offshore contractor Aker Solutions a contract for the delivery of a not-permanently-attended installation for the Jackdaw gas field in the UK North Sea. The Jackdaw gas project received a financial green light last week.

Shell’s Nigeria Exploration and Production Co exercised a six-month option for the drillship Valaris DS-10, and Shell hired heavy-duty modern jack-up Valaris 115 on a four-year deal for work offshore Brunei. That contract is expected to begin April 2023 and is valued at US$159M. The oil major also awarded heavy-duty harsh environment jack-up Valaris 122 a one-well contract extension for work in the UK North Sea.

Offshore driller Valaris published its latest fleet status report and Q2 2022 results, with an associated contract backlog of approximately US$560M. Among the new contracts and extensions for its rigs, the most financially significant is a 540-day contract from Equinor for Valaris DS-17 working offshore Brazil totalling US$327M. Valaris DS-15 will also work offshore Brazil for TotalEnergies EP Brasil on continuation of existing contracts with optional extensions totalling an estimated 100 days of work. 

Valaris chief executive Anton Dibowitz said, “The fundamental outlook for our industry remains constructive, with spot Brent crude prices above US$100 per barrel for most of the past five months and two-year and five-year forward prices above US$80 per barrel and US$70 per barrel, respectively. As a result, we continue to see an increase in both contracting and tendering activity across both floater and jack-up markets.”

ExxonMobil’s affiliate in Guyana, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana awarded TechnipFMC an EPC contract for the gas-to-energy project in the region. The contract comes on the back of Exxon’s most recent hydrocarbon discovery offshore Guyana. Subject to final project sanction, TechnipFMC will provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea risers and pipelines. The project will connect the production from Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs back to shore, delivering associated gas from the field to a gas-fired power plant that will supply electricity. TechnipFMC did not disclose the full contract amount but described it as ‘significant’, which the company defines as between US$75M and US$250M.

Italian oil and gas firm Eni announced the discovery of 1~1.5Tn cubic feet (tcf) of raw gas from its first exploration well drilled in offshore Block 2 offshore Abu Dhabi, UAE. An Eni-led consortium also reached a final investment decision for Angola’s Quiluma and Maboqueiro gas project, with first gas planned in 2026. Finally, Eni subsidiary company Enimed awarded Saipem an offshore engineering and construction contract, to transport and install an offshore gas pipeline connecting the four wells of Argo and Cassiopea Fields to the Sicilian coast, worth approximately €300M (US$305M). With a length of 60 km and a maximum water depth of 660 m, the 14” gas pipeline will be installed by the pipelay vessels Castorone and Castoro 10. Heavy-lift vessel Saipem 3000 will install umbilicals connecting Cassiopea wells to the Prezioso Platform. 

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