Valaris rig heading towards its next drilling job in North Sea

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris has confirmed that one of its jack-up rigs, which recently left a shipyard in Scotland, is en route to its upcoming drilling assignment in the UK sector of the North Sea.

A few months ago, Valaris secured a one-well contract with NEO Energy in the UK North Sea for the Valaris Norway heavy-duty ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig. The contract, which was slated to start in July 2023 and end in August 2023, has an estimated duration of 20 days. The operating day rate is $105,000.

In an update on 15 August 2023, the rig owner explained that the Valaris Norway rig had recently departed the shipyard in Dundee, Scotland. Currently, the rig is on its way to the Victoria subsea well in the UK North Sea for its upcoming campaign with NEO Energy.

Tord Vintervold, Rig Manager, commented: “The Valaris Norway departed the shipyard after a short visit between contracts. The rig safely completed some maintenance work scopes, including BOP recertification, changing out the 15K choke & Kill manifold, shaker upgrades, and crane maintenance and recertification. We wish the crew the best for the upcoming campaign.”

Valaris’ fleet status report from August 2023 shows the change in the rig’s schedule, thus, the jack-up is expected to start its work with NEO Energy in August 2023 and finish it in September 2023. The rig worked for Centrica Storage in the UK until June 2023.

After completing the work for NEO Energy, the rig is scheduled to kick off its assignment with North Sea Natural Resources in September 2023 and wrap it up in October 2023.

The 2011-built Valaris Norway jack-up rig is of KFELS N Class design. It can accommodate 130 people and its maximum drilling depth is 35,000 ft.

Valaris won new contracts for two floaters and two jack-ups in its rig fleet during 2Q 2023, enabling its rigs to carry out operations in West Africa, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and Australia.