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 subsurf ...

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 ...

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

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. In 1980, the company became a public company via an initial public offering. 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'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, 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. 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. It emerged from bankruptcy in May 2021.

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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