bp lets drillship contract to Valaris for additional work in Egypt
BP Exploration Delta Ltd. has let a 5-well contract to Valaris Ltd. for drillship Valaris DS-12 in Egypt. The contract also includes three option wells.
The contract is expected to begin in second-quarter 2026 and has an estimated duration of 350 days, Valaris said in a release Oct. 13. The estimated total contract value, inclusive of a mobilization fee, is about $140 million.
Valaris president and chief executive officer Anton Dibowitz said the company is pleased "that DS-12 will return to Egypt with bp, building on our successful exploration campaign together."
In late 2022, bp PLC let a four-well contract to Valaris for the Valaris DS-12 drillship to work offshore Egypt.
In September of this year, bp signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate opportunities for a five-well programme at water depth of 300-1,500 m in the Mediterranean Sea, designed to accelerate development and production of national gas reserves, with the intent of extending the use of existing production infrastructure in the West Nile Delta.
Drilling operations for the campain are expected to start in 2026, with possible tie-back options following evaluation of the drilling campaign and resource potential.
In first-half 2025, bp has made two discoveries in Egypt, where it completed drilling activity at the Fayoum-5 gas discovery well in North Alexandria Offshore Concession, and El King-2 exploration well in the North King Mariout Offshore Concession. Both are part of the West Nile Delta development.