Valaris, the world’s largest offshore drilling ship owner, announced that it has been awarded a 940-day contract extension for drillship VALARIS DS-16, starting in June 2026, and a new 914-day contract for drillship VALARIS DS-18, that is expected to start in mid-fourth quarter 2026, with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Occidental, in the Gulf of America. The combined addition to contracted revenue backlog is approximately $760 million.
President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We’ve secured approximately $1.9 billion in new contract backlog so far this year, reflecting solid execution of our commercial strategy and our ability to deliver safe and efficient operations for our customers. We remain focused on securing additional attractive, long-term contracts for our high-specification assets that will further support our earnings and cash flow.”
Valaris Limited is the industry leader in offshore drilling services across all water depths and geographies. Operating a high-quality rig fleet of ultra-deepwater drillships, versatile semisubmersibles and modern shallow-water jackups, Valaris has experience operating in nearly every major offshore basin.
Public information shows that the “Valaris DS-16” was built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and completed in 2015. It adopts the GustoMSC P10000 design, has an operating water depth of up to 12,000 feet, can accommodate 210 people, and has a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet.