U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has awarded a two-year contract for Valaris' drillship Valaris DS-9 for operations in Angola.
The drillship, formerly known as Ensco DS-9, will work for ExxonMobil's Angolan subsidiary Esso Exploration Angola.
Delivered in 2015 by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea, the drillship is currently preservation stacked in the Canary Islands, Spain.
Valaris will reactivate the 229.9 meters long drilling rig of the Samsung 12000 design, and mobilize it to Angola ahead of the anticipated contract start in June 2022. No details were shared on the value of the contract.
The contract announcement comes just a week after Valaris said it has secured a contract with Petrobras for the drillship Valaris DS-4.
The drillship had been preservation stacked in the UK but has recently also moved to the Canary Islands.
The contract for operations offshore Brazil is for a minimum term of 548 days and is expected to start by the early second quarter of 2022.