Valaris plc

Valaris plc is an offshore drilling contractor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and incorporated in the UK. It is the largest offshore drilling and well drilling company in the world, and owns 74 rigs, including 50 offshore jackup rigs, 16 drillships, and 8 semi-submersible platform drilling rigs.

Valaris plc
FormerlyEnscoRowan plc
TypePublic limited company
OTC Pink: VALPQ
IndustryPetroleum industry
Founded1975 (1975)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom (incorporation)
San Felipe Plaza
Houston, Texas, USA (operational)
Key people
 Thomas P. Burke, CEO & President
Jonathan H. Baksht, CFO
Mary Francis, director
ServicesOffshore drilling
Well drilling
Revenue $2.053 billion (2019)
$198 million (2019)
Total assets $16.931 billion (2019)
Total equity $9.310 billion (2019)
Number of employees
5,800 (2019)
Websitevalaris.com
Footnotes / references
[1]
DS-6 Drillship taking on fuel bunkers in Walvis Bay, Namibia during the transit to Angola and start of a contract with BP.

In 2019, the company's revenues were primarily from Total S.A. (16% of revenues), BP (9% of revenues), Saudi Aramco (7% of revenues), and Petrobras (4% of revenues).[1]

History

In 1975, after the 1973 oil crisis, John R. Blocker bought Choya Energy, a six-rig contract drilling company based in Alice, Texas, and renamed the company Blocker Energy.[2]

In 1980, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.[3]

In 1981 and early 1982, the company borrowed heavily to expand its fleet to 54 rigs.[4]

However, in late 1982, the price of oil plunged and, to avoid bankruptcy, Blocker Energy restructured, giving 64% of the company to its banks in exchange for $240 million in debt forgiveness. By 1983, the company was only operating 6 rigs, although that number increased to 24 in 1984. By 1985, the worldwide employee count of the company was down to 500.[2][5]

Richard Rainwater's BEC Ventures made an investment in the company in 1986 and chose Carl F. Thorne to run the company, which he did until his retirement 20 years later.[6]

In 1987, the company changed its name to Energy Service Company (Ensco).

In 1990, in a transaction orchestrated by Rainwater, who owned 21% of the company, the company acquired Penrod, previously controlled by Ray Lee Hunt, which added 19 rigs to its fleet.[7][8]

In 2010, the company moved its headquarters to London and became a UK-registered company.[9][10]

In May 2011, the company acquired Pride International.[11] The company closed its Dallas office and consolidated it into its Houston office.[12]

In 2019, the company merged with Rowan[13] and changed its name to Valaris plc.[14]

In August 2020, the company filed for a prearranged bankruptcy.[15] Two rigs, Deimos (formerly ENSCO/Valaris 8500) and Phobos (formerly ENSCO/Valaris 8501), were sold off for $3.5 million each to Lone Star Mineral Development LLC, a subsidiary of SpaceX, through a bankruptcy sale.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Valaris plc 2019 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. Trounson, Rebecca (October 24, 2014). "Sunny forecast hid rough waters". Houston Chronicle.
  3. "SEC News Digest" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 7, 1984.
  4. "Blocker Drilling Canada Ltd. announced Thursday it has expanded..." United Press International. December 3, 1981.
  5. BLEAKLEY, FRED R. (May 9, 1985). "THE BOOM IN RESTRUCTURINGS". The New York Times.
  6. "Friends return Richard Rainwater's investment in them as billionaire battles degenerative neurological condition". The Dallas Morning News. November 26, 2011.
  7. "Energy Service, R.D. Smith complete closing of Penrod Drilling". United Press International. October 26, 1990.
  8. Hayes, Thomas C. (March 29, 1990). "Talking Deals; Group May Gain Control of Penrod". The New York Times.
  9. Williams, Christopher C. (January 12, 2013). "Drilling Deep for Value". Barron's.
  10. "Ensco Plc's CEO Discusses Q4 2010 Results - Earnings Call Transcript". TheStreet.com. February 24, 2011.
  11. "Ensco plc Completes Acquisition of Pride International" (Press release). Business Wire. May 31, 2011.
  12. Joyce, Matt (June 9, 2011). "Ensco to close Dallas office, conduct layoffs". American City Business Journals.
  13. "Ensco plc and Rowan Companies plc Merge to Form Ensco Rowan plc, Industry-Leading Offshore Driller" (Press release). Business Wire. April 11, 2019.
  14. "Ensco Rowan plc to Change Its Name to Valaris plc" (Press release). Business Wire. July 2, 2019.
  15. "Valaris plc Announces Agreement to Significantly Reduce Debt and Create a Financial Structure Sustainable for Prolonged Industry Retrenchment and Longer-Term Recovery" (Press release). PR Newswire. August 19, 2020.
  16. Burghardt, Thomas (January 19, 2021). "SpaceX acquires former oil rigs to serve as floating Starship spaceports". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
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