Rig gigs of $900 million push Valaris’ backlog to $4.7 billion

February 20th, 2026

Bermuda-incorporated offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured a batch of new drillship and jack-up rig assignments and extensions in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North and South America.

Valaris DS-9 drillship; Source: ExxonMobil

Following new deals and extensions, with an associated contract backlog of nearly $900 million, Valaris’ contract backlog increased to approximately $4.7 billion from around $4.5 billion as of October 23, 2025.

Anton Dibowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer,commented: “We delivered revenue efficiency of 98% for the quarter and 96% for full year 2025, marking our fifth consecutive year of revenue efficiency at or above 96%. […] Our strong operating performance continues to translate into significant contracting success.

“Since our last quarterly report, we secured nearly $900 million of additional backlog, further strengthening our robust contract coverage across 2026 and 2027. After addressing the white space on our open drillship capacity earlier this year, we recently announced contract awards for Valaris DS-7 and DS-9, and we expect all ten of our active drillships to be working as we enter 2027, which was a key objective for us.”

The firm’s floater awards entail a five-well contract extension for the Valaris DS-7 drillship with Azule Energy offshore Angola, which is expected to begin in October 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program. This contract has an estimated duration of 325 days and will add approximately $125 million to contracted revenue backlog. The deal also includes a five-well unpriced option with an estimated duration of 300 to 350 days.

The rig owner also won a two-year contract extension for the Valaris DS-9 drillship with Esso Exploration Angola, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, which is scheduled to start in July 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program. The operating day rate is perceived to be in line with recent market rates in the region. This deal also includes two six-month options.

Valaris landed a multi-year contract for the Valaris DS-8 drillship with Shell offshore Brazil. The deal is set to commence in the first quarter of 2027, with an estimated duration of approximately 800 days and a total contract value of about $300 million. The contract also includes options with an estimated duration of around a year.

On the other hand, the rig owner’s jack-up awards encompass an eight-well contract for the Valaris 106 jack-up rig with BP in Indonesia, which is anticipated to begin in the third quarter 2026 and has an estimated duration of two years. With an estimated total contract value of approximately $74 million, the deal also includes four option wells.

Valaris secured a 75-day contract extension for the Valaris 117 jack-up with Eni in Mexico. The assignment commenced in January 2026. The offshore drilling player got hold of a 185-day contract extension for the Valaris 117 jack-up with an undisclosed operator offshore Trinidad, which is expected to start in the first quarter of 2028 in direct continuation of the existing program.

The Bermuda-incorporated firm also revealed a priced option exercised by Esso Australia for the Valaris 107 jack-up, which will commence in direct continuation of the existing program. The rig is now expected to be under contract through September 2026. In addition, Valaris landed a three-well contract for the same jack-up with GB Energy offshore Australia, which is slated to kick off in October 2026 and has an estimated duration of 150 days, with a value of about $27 million.

The rig owner picked up a 12-well plug and abandonment contract with Spirit Energy in the East Irish Sea (UK), with a commencement window up to December 2030 and an estimated duration of 294 days. The contracted revenue backlog is estimated to be $35 million and is subject to an annual cost escalation mechanism effective from the contract execution date. This deal comes with three options with a total estimated duration of 426 days.

This contract is a fleet award under which operations may be performed by any suitable and available rig within the firm’s North Sea fleet. The company obtained a 105-day contract extension for the Valaris 123 jack-up with TAQA in the Dutch North Sea. The rig’s task is to provide accommodation support services from January 2026 in direct continuation of the existing program. The day rate is $80,000 and there are four one-month options left.

A 64-day contract extension has been arranged for the Valaris 122 jack-up with Adura in the UK North Sea, which is expected to begin in February 2026 in direct continuation of the existing contract. The contracted revenue backlog for this extension is over $7 million and encapsulates accommodation support. Valaris got a 30-day contract extension for the Valaris 248 jack-up with GE Vernova in the UK North Sea.

This enables the rig to provide accommodation support services for an offshore wind project. The contract extension is expected to start in March in direct continuation of the existing contract and will add over $2 million to contracted revenue backlog.

The contract incorporates additional five priced options with a total duration of 74 days. Meanwhile, the Valaris DPS-1 semi-submersible is classified as held for sale with the intent to recycle, while the Valaris 102 and 145 rigs were sold for recycling in 2025.

Dibowitz highlighted: “Earlier this month, we were pleased to announce an all-stock transaction with Transocean that delivers meaningful value to Valaris shareholders, who will benefit from associated synergies and have the opportunity to participate in the future upside potential of the combined company.

“We believe the outlook for the offshore drilling industry remains positive, with customers continuing to emphasize the need for sustained upstream investment to help ensure secure, reliable and affordable energy supply.”

Valaris’ floater revenues exclusive of reimbursable items decreased to $255 million from $293 million in the third quarter 2025, primarily due to the Valaris DS-15 and DS-18 drillships completing contracts mid-third quarter without immediate follow-on work and Valaris MS-1 and DPS-1 semi-submersible completing contracts mid-fourth quarter.

The company explains that both drillships are scheduled to embark on new contracts in the second half of 2026, while the semi-submersible duo has been mobilized to Malaysia and is currently stacked. Exclusive of reimbursable items, contract drilling expenses increased to $198 million from $188 million in the third quarter 2025.

The increase was primarily due to higher repair costs associated with planned maintenance projects, an increase in accruals related to certain claims and higher mobilization expenses for the Valaris DPS-1 and MS-1 rigs given their mobilization to Malaysia, partially offset by cost reductions for the Valaris DS-15 and DS-18 units, which completed contracts mid-third quarter and were idle during the fourth quarter.

Chris Weber, Valaris’ Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, emphasized: “We expect that our financial results will improve meaningfully across the year as our currently idle drillships return to work. Two drillships are expected to return to work in the second quarter, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter.

“Given our strong commercial execution, approximately 97% of full-year 2026 revenue at the midpoint of our revenue guidance range is secured by firm contracts. Approximately $260 million of our 2026 capex guidance is for maintenance and upgrade work, including deferred maintenance projects for drillships returning to work after idle periods and special periodic surveys for several jack-ups.”

The rig owner’s jack-up revenues exclusive of reimbursable items decreased to $209 million from $217 million in the third quarter 2025, primarily due to the sale of the Valaris 247 jack-up, which contributed one month of revenue in the third quarter. Exclusive of reimbursable items, contract drilling expenses decreased to $121 million from $125 million in the third quarter 2025, primarily due to the sale of the Valaris 247 rig during the third quarter.

Weber concluded: “The remaining capex relates to contract-specific upgrades, including for jackups Valaris 116 and 250 prior to continuing long-term bareboat charters with ARO and for three drillships being upgraded with managed pressure drilling systems, two of which will be the advanced CML design.

“These contract-specific upgrades are expected to be partially offset by upfront payments from customers of approximately $110 million.”