Valaris has secured approximately $220 million in additional contract backlog through offshore drilling awards and extensions announced since its fleet update on 5 August 2026, Offshore Energy reported. The Bermuda-incorporated contractor’s new commitments cover Suriname, Australia and the North Sea. The total excludes lump-sum payments, including mobilisation fees and capital reimbursements.
In Suriname, Petronas Suriname Exploration & Production has contracted the Valaris DS-18 drillship for a two-well exploration programme, following an earlier letter of award. Operations are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 and run for up to seven months. The backlog calculation excludes mobilisation and demobilisation compensation, along with any additional services billed separately.
Offshore Australia, the Valaris 107 jack-up has secured an estimated 300-day assignment to follow its existing commitments. Offshore Energy put the associated backlog at approximately $50 million, including priced options but excluding mobilisation and demobilisation compensation. Separately, a multi-well plugging and abandonment contract in the Southern North Sea can be undertaken by any suitable, available rig in Valaris’s regional fleet.
That North Sea assignment has a start window extending to December 2030 and an estimated duration of 341 days. Its $41.5 million revenue backlog is subject to annual cost escalation from the contract’s execution date. A further option covers one well and an estimated 19 days of work.
INEOS has extended the Valaris 122’s Danish North Sea programme by an estimated 126 days, starting in February 2027 immediately after its current work. The operating day rate is $115,000, with further options totalling an estimated 699 days in UK and Danish waters. Meanwhile, an amended Eni contract will transfer approximately eight and a half months of the Valaris 72’s East Irish Sea programme to the Valaris 121, beginning in November 2026. Valaris 72 is consequently expected to finish in March rather than September 2027, with the amendment adding about $17 million to backlog.
A 31-day extension for Valaris 248 with Seatrium began in October 2026, maintaining accommodation support for a UK North Sea offshore wind project and adding approximately $2.5 million in contracted revenue. Valaris also sold the MS-1 and Valaris 111 rigs for recycling in September 2026, according to Offshore Energy.