Valaris Limited (previously ENSCO-Rowan plc) is an

offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...

contractor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and incorporated in

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. It is the largest

and

well drilling Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, brine, natural gas, or petroleum, for the injection of a fluid from surface to a subsurface reservoir or for subsurfac ...

company in the world, and owns 52 rigs, including 36 offshore

jackup rig A jackup rig or a self-elevating unit is a type of mobile platform that consists of a buoyant hull fitted with a number of movable legs, capable of raising its hull over the surface of the sea. The buoyant hull enables transportation of the unit a ...

s, 11

drillship A drillship is a merchant vessel designed for use in exploratory offshore drilling of new oil and gas wells or for scientific drilling purposes. In recent years the vessels have been used in deepwater and ultra-deepwater applications, equipped ...

s, and 5

semi-submersible platform A semi-submersible platform is a specialised marine vessel used in offshore roles including as offshore drilling rigs, safety vessels, oil production platforms, and heavy lift cranes. They have good ship stability and seakeeping, better than dr ...

drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wat ...

s. In 2022, the company's largest customer was BP (15% of revenues).

History

In 1975, after the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

, John R. Blocker bought Choya Energy, a six-rig contract drilling company based in

Alice, Texas Alice is a city in, and the county seat of, Jim Wells County, Texas, United States, in the South Texas region of the state. The population was 19,104 at the 2010 census. Alice was established in 1888. First it was called "Bandana", then "Kleberg ...

, and renamed the company Blocker Energy. In 1980, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

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

Richard Rainwater Richard Edward Rainwater (June 15, 1944 – September 27, 2015) was an American investor and philanthropist. With an estimated net worth of $3 billion, he ranked 211th on the Forbes 400 in 2015. His investing style was described as "analytically ...

'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. 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 Ray Lee Hunt (born 1943) is an American billionaire heir and businessman. Early life Hunt is the son of the late H. L. Hunt (1889–1974), founder of Hunt Oil Co. His parents married in 1957. Hunt's sisters include June Hunt, Swanee Hunt, and ...

, which added 19 rigs to its fleet. In 2010, the company moved its headquarters to London and became a UK-registered company. In May 2011, the company acquired

Pride International Pride International, Inc. was an offshore oil drilling company headquartered in Houston, Texas. As of February 2011, it operated 26 drilling rigs. In May 2011, it was acquired by Ensco (now Valaris Limited). History The company was founded in 196 ...

. The company closed its Dallas office and consolidated it into its Houston office. In October 2017, the company acquired Atwood Oceanics for $860 million and became the largest owner of jackup fleets worldwide. In 2019, the company merged with Rowan Companies and changed its name to Valaris plc. In August 2020, the company filed for a prearranged

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. It emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valaris plc 1975 establishments in Texas 1980s initial public offerings Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 Drilling rig operators Oil and gas companies of Bermuda

History

See also

References

External links