Valaris' New Fleet Status Reports $285M Addition To Backlog

Valaris plc. (NYSE:VAL) , formerly EnscoRowan, recently released its fleet status report comprising a number of developments. The company clinched new contracts and extensions of the existing deals for its drilling rigs leading to $285 million addition to its associated backlog. The new backlog estimate as of November-end exceeds $2.6 billion.

Of the many contract wins and expansions, the four are discussed in detail below:

Valaris JU-292 contract extension is attributable to the exercise of a six-well priced option with ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the Norwegian Sea. The expansion is valid for a period of 300 days starting May 2020 through late February 2021. The contract’s dayrate is projected to be $185,000.

Built in 1982, the Valaris JU-87 jack-up rig secured a 21-well pact in the Gulf of Mexico. The receipt of this 295-day deal from Exxon (NYSE:XOM) will be effective this month. Per the source, the dayrate is estimated at $50,000.
Drillship Valaris DS-18 snapped up a two-well contract with an undisclosed operator, which has a probable job duration of 180 days. The Gulf of Mexico deal is set to be valid next June onward with dayrate projection of $200,000. This drillship also received a one-well contract from EnVen in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The rig with projected dayrate worth $180,000 will work for 45 days starting February 2020 through March 2020.

Valaris DS-15 drillship was awarded a one-well and two-well contracts with Eni and CNOOC, respectively, in the Gulf of Mexico. While the former with an anticipated dayrate of $180,000 is expected to work for a span of 30 days the current month onward, the latter with $190,000 estimated dayrate will work for 160 days starting April 2020. Notably, DS-15 already has a contract from Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) . This deal with one-well option will last from January 2020 to March 2020.

The jack-up and drillship news will surely boost this London-based offshore driller’s prospects. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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