Offshore drilling services leader Valaris Limited, the Bermuda exempted company, has been awarded new bareboat charter agreements with ARO Drilling for several jackups.

ARO Drilling has signed contracts with Aramco for the same periods as the bareboat charter agreements.

Heavy-duty harsh environment jackup VALARIS 250, heavy-duty modern jackup VALARIS 116 and standard-duty modern jackups VALARIS 143 and 146 will each commence three-year extensions to their bareboat charter agreements upon completion of their existing agreements with ARO Drilling in December 2021.

Also, ARO Drilling owned rigs ARO 3003 and ARO 3004 have each been awarded five-year contract extensions with Aramco that will commence upon completion of their existing contracts in December 2021.

Valaris president and chief executive officer Anton Dibowitz said: “We are very pleased to have secured additional work for four of our high-quality modern jackups, extending our longstanding relationship with Aramco, one of the largest customers for offshore drilling rigs in the world.

“ARO Drilling is a strategic asset for Valaris, providing a continued presence in an important offshore basin and long-term growth prospects via ARO’s twenty-rig newbuild programme, with the first two newbuild jackups expected to be delivered in the second half of 2022.

“We look forward to continuing to work with our joint venture partner, Aramco, on growing and delivering value from ARO Drilling.”

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.