Transocean has announced two new contract awards in the US Gulf of America totalling approximately $550 million in firm contract backlog, covering its Deepwater Proteus and Deepwater Conqueror ultra-deepwater drillships.
The Deepwater Proteus was awarded a ten-well contract with an undisclosed operator in the US Gulf, contributing approximately $325 million to backlog. The estimated 700-day campaign will commence in the first quarter of 2027 in direct continuation of the rig’s current US Gulf contract, providing seamless utilisation without a gap between programmes.
The Deepwater Conqueror was separately awarded a five-well contract with an undisclosed operator, also in the US Gulf, contributing approximately $225 million in backlog. This campaign will also commence in direct continuation of the rig’s current US Gulf activity.
The two awards represent a further step in Transocean’s steady accumulation of US Gulf backlog through 2026. Earlier in the year, the Deepwater Proteus received a two-well contract with two one-well options in the Gulf, and the Deepwater Conqueror secured a two-well extension with an unnamed operator before its more recently announced Equatorial Guinea programme — a two-well, 170-day contract worth approximately $80 million confirmed on 15 September 2026. The Equatorial Guinea work will follow directly after the new US Gulf programme, keeping the Conqueror active from its current US Gulf campaign through 2027 and into 2028.
The announcements come as Transocean advances toward the closing of its $5.8 billion all-stock acquisition of Valaris, which is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026 and create the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor with a combined fleet of 73 rigs. Transocean separately refinanced its credit agreement on 15 October 2026, extending the maturity date to October 2031 and increasing the revolving credit facility to prepare the combined business for post-merger operation.
On 9 October, Transocean also confirmed that the Transocean Norge had been awarded a two-well contract with one single-well option by Shell in Norway, contributing approximately $62 million in firm backlog, alongside the formal conversion of its previously announced Equinor agreement to approximately $1.0 billion in firm backlog following government approval of the work programme.
Across the seven contract announcements and extensions made public in October alone, Transocean has added more than $1.6 billion to its backlog before completing its merger with Valaris. That pace of contracting, concentrated in the US Gulf, Norway and Equatorial Guinea, reflects both the continued strength of the ultra-deepwater drilling market and Transocean’s positioning as the counterparty of choice for operators planning high-specification deepwater programmes through the end of the decade.
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