Valeura snaps up ADES rig for long-term drilling offshore Thailand

Valeura Energy is taking the jackup Shelf Drilling Enterprise on a three-year charter for operations offshore Thailand.

The company retains an option on the start date but expects the rig to start drilling operations in fourth-quarter 2026, with the contract due to run until Dec. 31, 2029.

Initially, the priority will be production acceleration projects at various offshore fields.

According to Valeura, the rig, owned by ADES Holding subsidiary Shelf Drilling (Southeast Asia), is a premium jackup suited to drilling operations anywhere in the Gulf of Thailand.

“We see more opportunity and a larger inventory of drilling targets within our core Gulf of Thailand portfolio. At the same time, we see a favorable pricing environment within the rig market, so we are moving decisively to capitalize on the opportunity before us by locking in the Enterprise rig for a term of three years…," Valeura’s President and CEO Dr. Sean Guest said. “We intend to pursue further development, appraisal and exploration drilling across our portfolio with a program of continual drilling through the end of 2029.”

The company is also reviewing options to increase its drilling activity this year, according to its latest quarterly report. Under its original plan, Valeura had eight months of drilling activity scheduled during the year, but the company is now in discussions with drilling rig contractors on the potential to drill more wells in the fourth quarter this year.