Valeura charters Shelf Drilling’s 19-year-old rig

April 22, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Canadian oil & gas company Valeura Energy has chartered a jack-up drilling rig owned by UAE-based Shelf Drilling for multi-year work in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Enterprise jack-up rig has been chartered for a three-year term which runs until December 31, 2029.

Valeura Energy has an option on the start date and is currently planning to start drilling operations with the rig in Q4 2026, initially focused on delivering production acceleration projects.

Enterprise was built in 2007 and last upgraded in 2020. Formerly known as Maersk Completer, Shelf Drilling purchased the rig from Maersk in 2019 and renamed it in January 2020. It is of a Baker Marine Pacific 375 design and can accommodate 150 people.

The jack-up completed a campaign with PTTEP in Thailand in July 2025, after which it was deployed in Vietnam in early October for one firm well for an undisclosed client.

“Three consecutive years of an approximately 200% reserves replacement ratio has materially transformed our asset base. With 57.8 mmbbls of proved plus probable reserves as of 31 December 2025, we see more opportunity and a larger inventory of drilling targets within our core Gulf of Thailand portfolio. At the same time, we see a favourable pricing environment within the rig market, so we are moving decisively to capitalise on the opportunity before us by locking in the Enterprise rig for a term of three years,” said Sean Guest, Valeura Energy’s President and CEO.

“Our business remains robust, even at the relatively low commodity prices we saw in late 2025. With that position now coupled with a robust balance sheet, we intend to pursue further development, appraisal, and exploration drilling across our portfolio with a programme of continual drilling through the end of 2029.”