U.S.-based offshore drilling company Valaris has deployed the Valaris DS-9 drillship to Angola, where it will commence operations with Esso Exploration Angola – a subsidiary of U.S. energy giant, ExxonMobil – as part of a two-year contract.
Following the signing of a deal between the company and Esso Exploration Angola in October 2021, Valaris started the reactivation process of the 2015-built DS-9 drillship. Now reactivated – a process which took 4,725 hours of work – the drillship left Las Palmas, Capital of Gran Canaria, on June 16, 2022, heading to Angola to commence its new campaign.
The 755-foot Valaris DS-9 drillship was built by Samsung Heavy Industries and can accommodate up to 200 people, with the rig operating at a maximum water depth of 12,000 ft, reaching a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft. The contract in Angola will run until May 2024.
Learn more about energy developments in Angola.