In a statement sent to Rigzone by the BP team on Monday, BP announced the award of a rig contract to Valaris for the DS-12 deepwater drillship to drill five wells in the Mediterranean.
The statement outlined that the wells will be drilled offshore Egypt in water depths ranging from 300 to 1,500 meters (984 to 4,921 feet). Drilling operations are expected to start in 2026, according to the statement, which noted that the program aims to “accelerate the development and production of gas reserves while utilizing existing production facilities in the Nile Delta”.
The rig contract signing ceremony took place at the Egypt Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and was attended by Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, BP highlighted in the statement. BP also pointed out in the statement that the rig contract signing follows the visit of Badawi to BP’s London headquarters in September. During that visit, BP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EGAS to drill five wells in the Mediterranean, BP highlighted.
Nader Zaki, BP Regional President for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement, “we value our longstanding partnership with the Egyptian government”.
“This signing represents a strategic milestone in our investments in Egypt’s energy sector during this decade, enabling us to develop additional gas resources in the Nile Delta and bring them into production as quickly as possible to meet the growing domestic market needs,” Zaki added.
Wail Shaheen, BP Egypt President, said in the statement, “this signing builds on our recent exploration success in the Nile Delta and reflects our continued commitment to developing Egypt’s gas resources”.
“The DS-12 rig will enable us to build on the momentum of our recent campaign, explore for new resources, and accelerate the development of new discoveries to support Egypt’s energy security and sustain production from the WND facilities beyond 2030,” Shaheen added.
BP highlighted in its statement that it plans to “increase production to 2.3-2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2030 with the capacity to increase production out to 2035”. The company added that it has made 10 exploration discoveries across its global portfolio in the first half of 2025, with two of those discoveries in Egypt. These comprise the Fayoum-5 gas discovery well and the El King-2 exploration well, both part of the West Nile Delta basin, BP pointed out in the statement.
In a statement posted on its website on Monday, Valaris Limited confirmed that it had been awarded a five-well contract with BP Exploration Delta Limited for drillship VALARIS DS-12 in Egypt.
Valaris noted in that statement that the contract is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2026 and added that it has an estimated duration of 350 days. The estimated total contract value, inclusive of a mobilization fee, is approximately $140 million, according to Valaris, which said the contract also includes three option wells.
“We are pleased that DS-12 will return to Egypt with BP, building on our successful exploration campaign together,” President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said in the Valaris statement.
“With this award, we continue to execute our commercial strategy, having now contracted all four drillships that have near-term availability. Looking ahead, we expect to secure additional attractive work for our high-specification drillships,” Dibowitz added.
According to a specification sheet available on Valaris’ website, the DS-12 drillship has a rated maximum water depth of 12,000 feet and a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet. It also has accommodation space for 200 people, the sheet highlighted.
In a statement posted on its website in February, BP announced a “fundamentally reset strategy”. This strategy will see BP grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus its downstream business, and invest with increasing discipline into the transition, the company noted in that statement.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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