Valaris Ltd (VAL) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Valaris second-quarter 2024 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Valaris 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Nick Georgas, Vice President Treasurer and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給財務兼投資者關係副總裁 Nick Georgas。請繼續。

Welcome, everyone, to the Valaris second-quarter 2024 conference call. With me today are President and CEO, Anton Dibowitz; Senior Vice President and CFO, Chris Weber; Senior Vice President and CCO, Matt Lyne and other members of our executive management team. We issued our press release which is available on our website at valaris.com.

歡迎大家參加 Valaris 2024 年第二季電話會議。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長 Anton Dibowitz；資深副總裁兼財務長 Chris Weber；資深副總裁兼首席文化長 Matt Lyne 和我們執行管理團隊的其他成員。我們發布了新聞稿，可在我們的網站 valaris.com 上取得。

Any comments we make today about expectations are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Please refer to our press release and SEC filings on our website that define forward-looking statements and list risk factors and other events that could impact future results. Also, please note that the company undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

我們今天對預期做出的任何評論都是前瞻性陳述，並受到風險和不確定性的影響。許多因素可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異。請參閱我們網站上的新聞稿和美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件，其中定義了前瞻性聲明並列出了可能影響未來結果的風險因素和其他事件。另請注意，該公司不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的責任。

During this call, we will refer to GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Please see the press release on our website for additional information and required reconciliations.

在本次電話會議中，我們將參考 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標。請參閱我們網站上的新聞稿，以了解更多資訊和所需的對帳。

Earlier this week, we issued our most recent Fleet Status Report, which provides details on contracts across our rig fleet. An updated investor presentation will be available on our website after the call.

本週早些時候，我們發布了最新的船隊狀態報告，其中提供了我們鑽機隊合約的詳細資訊。電話會議結束後，我們的網站上將提供最新的投資者介紹。

Now, I'll turn the call over to Anton Dibowitz, President and CEO.

現在，我將把電話轉給總裁兼執行長安東‧迪博維茨 (Anton Dibowitz)。

Thanks, Nick, and good morning and afternoon to everyone. During today's call, I will begin with an overview of our performance during the quarter and provide an update on the offshore drilling market. I will then hand the call over to Matt to discuss the floater and jackup markets in more detail and provide some additional color on recent contract awards as well as our contracting outlook. After that, Chris will discuss our financial results and guidance before I finish with some closing comments.

謝謝尼克，祝大家早安、下午好。在今天的電話會議中，我將首先概述我們本季的業績，並提供海上鑽井市場的最新情況。然後，我將把電話轉交給馬特，更詳細地討論浮式浮船和自升式鑽井平台市場，並就最近的合約授予以及我們的合約前景提供一些額外的資訊。之後，克里斯將討論我們的財務表現和指導，然後我結束一些總結評論。

To begin, I want to highlight some key points about our business that we will cover in more detail during this call. First, in the second quarter, we built on a great start to 2024 and would like to congratulate the entire Valaris team on delivering another excellent quarter of safety, operating and financial performance.

首先，我想強調有關我們業務的一些關鍵點，我們將在本次電話會議中更詳細地介紹這些要點。首先，在第二季度，我們為 2024 年奠定了良好的開局，並祝賀整個 Valaris 團隊在安全、營運和財務表現方面又取得了出色的季度業績。

Second, we continue to execute our commercial strategy, securing attractive new contracts and building our backlog. This past quarter marks the seventh consecutive increase in our backlog, which now totals more than $4.3 billion.

其次，我們繼續執行我們的商業策略，獲得有吸引力的新合約並建立我們的積壓訂單。上個季度是我們的積壓訂單連續第七次增加，目前積壓訂單總額已超過 43 億美元。

Third, we maintain our conviction in the strength and duration of this upcycle and see strong customer demand for projects that are expected to commence in 2025 and 2026.

第三，我們對這項升級週期的強度和持續時間保持信心，並看到客戶對預計於 2025 年和 2026 年啟動的專案的強勁需求。

Turning to operations. Our success continues to be built on the foundation of strong safety and operating performance. In the second quarter, we delivered fleet-wide revenue efficiency of 99% without a lost-time incident, a great achievement by the entire Valaris team.

轉向營運。我們的成功繼續建立在強大的安全和營運績效的基礎上。第二季度，我們實現了 99% 的整個車隊收入效率，沒有發生任何損失時間事件，這是整個 Valaris 團隊的巨大成就。

This achievement is even more impressive considering that we had several rigs either starting new contracts or changing operating locations during the quarter, including Valaris DS-7 following its reactivation DS-17 moving countries to drill a frontier exploration well in Argentina, and the Stavanger and 123 commencing new contracts in the North Sea following out-of-service periods for contract preparation and survey work.

考慮到我們在本季度有多個鑽井平台開始新合約或改變營運地點，包括在 DS-17 重新啟用後運往各國在阿根廷鑽探邊境勘探井的 Valaris DS-7，以及斯塔萬格和123 在合約準備和調查工作停止服務期後開始在北海簽訂新合約。

In addition, we had several rigs celebrate safety milestones during the quarter, and I would like to congratulate the Valaris 249 team for reaching two years without a recordable incident as well as the Valaris DS-10 and 106 teams for each reaching one year without a recordable incident, well done to everyone involved.

此外，我們有幾台鑽機在本季度慶祝了安全里程碑，我要祝賀 Valaris 249 團隊連續兩年沒有發生可記錄事故，以及 Valaris DS-10 和 106 團隊分別連續一年沒有發生可記錄事故。的事件，所有參與者都做得很好。

We also continued to build on our strong track record of reactivating rigs for contracts that benefit our financial results by returning Valaris DS-7, one of our seventh generation drillships to work on a long-term contract offshore West Africa. The DS-7 reactivation project was delivered on time and began its contract on schedule, marking our sixth drillship reactivation completed since 2022.

我們也繼續鞏固我們在重新啟動鑽機合約方面的良好記錄，將我們的第七代鑽井船之一 Valaris DS-7 返還到西非海上執行一項長期合同，這有利於我們的財務業績。DS-7重新啟用專案按時交付並按期開始合同，標誌著我們自2022年以來完成的第六艘鑽井船重新啟用。

Successfully reactivating rigs for attractive contracts has played a large part in our earnings growth story, and we still have organic growth capacity to meet increasing customer demand with Valaris DS-11, DS-13, and DS-14, the highest specification drillships in the global fleet that have yet to be reactivated.

成功重啟鑽井平台以獲得有吸引力的合約在我們的獲利成長中發揮了重要作用，我們仍然擁有有機成長能力，可以透過Valaris DS-11、DS-13 和DS-14（全球最高規格的鑽井船）滿足日益增長的客戶需求。

Moving to our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $139 million in the second quarter, up meaningfully from $54 million in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA, adding back one-time reactivation costs was $150 million.

轉向我們的財務表現。第二季調整後 EBITDA 增至 1.39 億美元，較第一季的 5,400 萬美元大幅成長。調整後的 EBITDA，加上一次性重新啟動成本為 1.5 億美元。

These results were better than our guidance, primarily due to the team achieving 99% revenue efficiency during the quarter. Certain contracts extending longer than previously anticipated and the timing of costs that are not expected to be recognized in subsequent quarters. Chris will provide further details on our financial results and guidance a little later.

這些結果好於我們的指導，主要是因為團隊在本季實現了 99% 的收入效率。某些合約的延長時間比之前預期的要長，且成本的時間預計不會在後續季度中確認。克里斯稍後將提供有關我們財務業績和指導的更多詳細資訊。

Turning now to the broader offshore drilling market. The combination of increasing global demand for hydrocarbons and OPEC+ effectively managing supply has led to relatively stable oil prices so far this year, with spot Brent crude prices largely trading above $80 per barrel.

現在轉向更廣泛的海上鑽井市場。全球碳氫化合物需求不斷增長，加上 OPEC+ 有效管理供應，導致今年迄今油價相對穩定，布蘭特原油現貨價格基本上維持在每桶 80 美元以上。

Looking out further, the five-year Brent forward price is around $70 per barrel, a level at which more than 90% of undeveloped offshore reserves are expected to be profitable.

進一步展望，五年期布蘭特原油遠期價格約為每桶 70 美元，預計 90% 以上的未開發海上儲量將實現盈利。

As a result, commodity prices remain very supportive for continued investment in long-cycle offshore projects. In addition, leading indicators of offshore rig demand, including global upstream CapEx and project sanctioning are expected to see strong growth over the next few years, bolstering our view that we are in a structural up cycle.

因此，大宗商品價格仍然非常有利於長週期海上專案的持續投資。此外，包括全球上游資本支出和項目批准在內的海上鑽井平台需求的領先指標預計將在未來幾年出現強勁增長，這增強了我們認為我們正處於結構性上升週期的觀點。

According to Rystad, deepwater upstream CapEx is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 9% over the next three years, which is anticipated to drive further growth in floater demand.

Rystad表示，未來三年深水上游資本支出預計將以9%的複合年增長率成長，預計將推動浮動設備需求進一步成長。

Average day rates for drillships have continued to increase compared to six and 12 months ago. Just past the halfway point of this year, we have already seen six fixtures above $500,000 per day compared to just two for all of last year. And these fixtures have spanned the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, West Africa, and Asia, evidence of the broad-based growth in customer demand.

與 6 個月和 12 個月前相比，鑽井船的平均日費率持續上升。今年剛過半，我們已經看到每天 50 萬美元以上的比賽有 6 場，而去年全年只有 2 場。這些固定裝置已遍布美國墨西哥灣、巴西、西非和亞洲，證明了客戶需求的廣泛增長。

The strength of the market is further demonstrated by our recently announced multiyear contract for Valaris DS-17, which added nearly $500 million of contract backlog at a leading-edge day rate. This contract includes a standby period where the customer will pay a day rates to keep the rig while they wait to commence their new drilling program.

我們最近宣布的 Valaris DS-17 多年合約進一步證明了市場的實力，該合約以領先的日費率增加了近 5 億美元的積壓合約。該合約包括一個等待期，客戶將在等待開始新的鑽井計劃期間支付日費以保留鑽機。

This new contract is a testament to the quality of our crews and operations, the capabilities of the rig and the collaborative nature of our relationship with Equinor, who have made meaningful investments in innovative safety and automation technology on the DS-17.

這份新合約證明了我們的船員和營運品質、鑽機的能力以及我們與 Equinor 合作關係的性質，Equinor 在 DS-17 的創新安全和自動化技術方面進行了有意義的投資。

Our priority remains maximizing the profitability of our fleet by keeping our active rigs highly utilized and securing the best contract economics possible. With this in mind, we are laser-focused on filling as many uncontracted days in 2024 as we can and securing term work commencing in 2025 and beyond that will further support our expected earnings and cash flow growth.

我們的首要任務仍然是透過保持活躍鑽機的高度利用率並確保最佳的合約經濟效益來最大限度地提高我們船隊的盈利能力。考慮到這一點，我們將集中精力在 2024 年盡可能多地填補未簽訂合約的天數，並確保 2025 年及以後開始的定期工作將進一步支持我們的預期收益和現金流增長。

Moving to shallow water, the benign environment jackup market remains tight with marketed utilization of 93%. Several rigs from the first routing of Saudi Aramco suspensions earlier this year have already made an orderly transition into the international benign environment jackup market, and leading-edge day rates are still north of $150,000 per day as evidenced by recent fixtures.

轉向淺水區，環境良性的自升式鑽井平台市場依然緊張，市場利用率為 93%。今年早些時候沙特阿美公司首次停工的幾座鑽井平台已經有序過渡到環境良好的國際自升式鑽井平台市場，並且正如最近的固定裝置所證明的那樣，前沿日費率仍高於每天150,000美元。

The working rig count offshore Saudi Arabia is anticipated to move slightly lower going forward with up to five additional rigs expected to be suspended. In connection with the second round of suspensions, Saudi Aramco recently received notices from Saudi Aramco to suspend the drilling contracts for Valaris 147 and 148.

沙烏地阿拉伯近海的作業鑽機數量預計將略有減少，另外多達 5 個鑽機預計將暫停。與第二輪暫停相關，沙烏地阿美公司最近收到沙烏地阿美公司的通知，暫停Valaris 147和148的鑽井合約。

Discussions are ongoing with Aramco, where there are other Valaris-leased rigs where our owned rigs could be subject to the suspensions instead of Valaris 147 and 148, along with the effective date for these suspensions. While we currently estimate the suspensions could adversely impact our full year 2024 EBITDA by up to $10 million, these two contracts represent just $35 million of our $4.3 billion in contract backlog.

正在與阿美公司進行討論，其中還有其他 Valaris 租賃的鑽井平台，我們擁有的鑽井平台可能會受到暫停的影響，而不是 Valaris 147 和 148，以及這些暫停的生效日期。雖然我們目前估計暫停可能會對我們 2024 年全年 EBITDA 產生高達 1000 萬美元的不利影響，但這兩份合約僅占我們 43 億美元合約積壓中的 3500 萬美元。

Taking a step back, the suspension of up to five additional rigs by Saudi Aramco does not change our view of the market as they represent approximately 1% of the global marketed jackup fleet.

退一步說，沙烏地阿美公司暫停最多五個額外鑽井平台並沒有改變我們對市場的看法，因為它們約佔全球銷售自升式鑽井平台船隊的 1%。

For harsh environment jackups, the supply/demand balance in the North Sea improved meaningfully in the latter half of 2023. Our rigs are fully contracted for 2024, and we currently have less than one rig year of availability across our nine active rigs in the region in 2025. We see strong customer interest for programs that line up well with this limited availability.

對於惡劣環境自升式鑽井平台來說，北海的供需平衡在2023年下半年顯著改善。我們的鑽機在 2024 年簽訂了全部合同，目前我們在該地區的九個活躍鑽機的可用鑽機年數不到 2025 年。我們看到客戶對與這種有限的可用性相符的計劃有濃厚的興趣。

Before I finish, I'd like to briefly comment on our capital return objectives. With positive industry fundamentals driving increasing day rates and contract durations, we're in a strong market to be adding contract backlog. As I noted earlier, we continue to make major strides on this front, which supports our earnings and cash flow growth.

在結束之前，我想先簡單評論一下我們的資本回報目標。由於積極的行業基本面推動了日費率和合約期限的增加，我們正處於增加合約積壓的強勁市場中。正如我之前指出的，我們繼續在這方面取得重大進展，這支持了我們的獲利和現金流成長。

Looking ahead, we expect to generate meaningful and sustained free cash flow in 2025 and beyond, and we intend to return all future free cash flow to shareholders unless there is a better or more value accretive use for it.

展望未來，我們預計將在 2025 年及以後產生有意義且持續的自由現金流，並且我們打算將所有未來的自由現金流返還給股東，除非有更好或更具增值價值的用途。

Now, I'll hand the call over to Matt to discuss the floater and jackup markets in more detail and to provide an overview of our recent contracting success in our contracting outlook.

現在，我將把電話轉交給馬特，更詳細地討論浮式浮船和自升式鑽井平台市場，並概述我們最近在承包前景中的承包成功。

Thanks, Anton, and good morning and afternoon, everyone. Since the beginning of the second quarter, we secured new contracts and extensions with associated contract backlog of approximately $715 million. These awards have increased our total backlog to more than $4.3 billion, a 42% increase compared to a year ago and our seventh consecutive quarter of backlog growth.

謝謝安東，大家早上好、下午好。自第二季初以來，我們獲得了新合約和延期合同，相關積壓合約約為 7.15 億美元。這些獎項使我們的積壓訂單總額增加到超過 43 億美元，與去年同期相比增加了 42%，並且是我們連續第七個季度的積壓增長。

Importantly, this growing backlog has been secured at higher day rates as seen in the increased average daily revenue within our quarterly results, and the average day rates included within our backlog. This is particularly evident for our drillship fleet.

重要的是，這種不斷增長的積壓是在更高的日費率下得到保證的，這從我們季度業績中平均日收入的增加以及我們積壓中包含的平均日費率中可以看出。這對於我們的鑽井船隊來說尤其明顯。

Over the past 12 months, drillship backlog has increased by nearly 50% to more than $2.5 billion. In addition, we have increased the average day rate for our drillships within backlog to $414,000 a day from $338,000 per day. These averages exclude the impact of meaningful upfront payments, we have secured on several of our drillship contracts, and we expect the average day rate within our backlog to increase as we roll legacy day rate contracts to market rates.

過去12個月，鑽井船積壓訂單增加了近50%，達到超過25億美元。此外，我們還將積壓鑽井船的平均日費率從每天 338,000 美元提高到每天 414,000 美元。這些平均值排除了有意義的預付款的影響，我們已經獲得了幾份鑽井船合同，並且隨著我們將傳統日費率合同轉為市場費率，我們預計積壓的平均日費率將會增加。

Our recent contract awards include a multiyear contract with Equinor offshore Brazil for drillship Valaris DS-17. We are pleased to have secured a new contract in direct continuation of the rig's current program at a very strong day rate.

我們最近簽訂的合約包括與 Equinor 巴西近海鑽井船 Valaris DS-17 簽訂的多年合約。我們很高興以非常強勁的日費率獲得了一份新合同，直接延續該鑽機當前的計劃。

The customer's willingness to pay a standby rate, while they wait to commence their new drilling program is a good indication of market strength as we look ahead to the second half of 2025 and 2026.

在我們展望 2025 年下半年和 2026 年時，客戶在等待開始新鑽井計劃時願意支付備用費率，這是市場實力的良好跡象。

Moving to shallow water. We have secured eight new contracts or extensions since the beginning of the second quarter, five of which were for rigs in the North Sea. These include a two-year program for Valaris 92 and approximately 300 days of work for Valaris Norway, securing work for both rigs for nearly all of next year and further enhancing our 2025 contract coverage in the region.

移至淺水區。自第二季度初以來，我們已獲得八份新合約或延期合同，其中五份涉及北海鑽井平台。其中包括 Valaris 92 的兩年計劃和 Valaris 挪威約 300 天的工作，確保兩台鑽機在明年幾乎全年都能工作，並進一步擴大我們在該地區的 2025 年合約覆蓋範圍。

In addition, we secured a one-year contract for Valaris 249 offshore Trinidad at a day rate in the high 100,000, representing a 10% increase from our previous contract award in the region.

此外，我們還獲得了特立尼達近海 Valaris 249 的一年期合同，日費高達 100,000 艘，比我們之前在該地區授予的合同增加了 10%。

Moving now to an overview of the major markets. Starting with floaters, the contracted benign environment float account reached 127 during the first quarter, its highest point since late 2016 and remained at this level during the second quarter.

現在我們來概述一下主要市場。從流動資金開始，第一季合約良性環境流動資金帳戶達到127個，為2016年底以來的最高點，並在第二季維持在這一水準。

Marketed utilization of 86% for the benign environment floater fleet is at its highest point in nearly a decade. The strength of the market is evident in the day rates we have seen for recent contracts, particularly for high-specification seventh-generation drillships, which comprise 12 of the 13 drillships in Valaris' fleet.

良性環境浮式船隊的市場利用率為 86%，達到近十年來的最高點。市場的強勁表現在我們近期合約的日費率中顯而易見，尤其是高規格第七代鑽井船，其中包括 Valaris 船隊 13 艘鑽井船中的 12 艘。

Average day rates for seventh generation drillship contracts have increased from approximately $450,000 in the second half of 2023 to approximately $480,000 in the first half of 2024. And as Anton mentioned, we have seen an increasing number of fixtures above $500,000 in recent months.

第七代鑽井船合約的平均日費率已從 2023 年下半年的約 45 萬美元增加到 2024 年上半年的約 48 萬美元。正如安東所提到的，近幾個月來我們看到 50 萬美元以上的賽事數量不斷增加。

We continue to see a robust pipeline of opportunities for work commencing in the second half of 2025 and 2026. Looking at expected future demand and ongoing tenders, we are tracking approximately 30 floater opportunities with durations of at least one year, and the average firm duration for these opportunities is approximately 2.5 years.

我們繼續看到大量工作機會將於 2025 年下半年和 2026 年開始。考慮到預期的未來需求和正在進行的招標，我們正在追蹤大約 30 個持續時間至少為一年的浮動動機會，這些機會的平均固定期限約為 2.5 年。

With the average lead-times and durations for programs extending the timing of contract awards can be hard to predict. However, we are confident that we will see a high conversion rate as tenders become contract fixtures. And we anticipate that roughly 20 of the 30 long-term opportunities that we are tracking will be awarded within the next 12 months with several expected before the end of this year.

由於專案的平均交付時間和持續時間延長了合約授予的時間，因此很難預測。然而，我們相信，隨著招標成為合約固定項目，我們將看到較高的轉換率。我們預計，我們正在追蹤的 30 個長期機會中，大約有 20 個將在未來 12 個月內授予，其中一些預計將在今年年底前授予。

We see the greatest number of opportunities for programs offshore Africa. We are currently tracking more than a dozen opportunities, including long-term tenders for work in several countries, including Nigeria, Angola and Ghana.

我們看到非洲近海計畫的機會最多。我們目前正在追蹤十多個機會，包括尼日利亞、安哥拉和加納等多個國家的長期工作招標。

Taking Nigeria as an example, Rystad's forecast for deepwater CapEx through the end of the decade has more than doubled as compared to their forecast just two years ago. This increased activity is expected to be primarily driven by IOCs, and we anticipate that we may see contract awards for at least one of these ongoing tenders before the end of the year with a further two expected to follow in early 2025.

以奈及利亞為例，Rystad 預測到本世紀末的深水資本支出將比兩年前的預測增加了一倍以上。預計這項活動的增加主要是由國際石油公司推動的，我們預計，在今年年底之前，我們可能會看到至少其中一項正在進行的招標獲得合同，預計在2025 年初還將有另外兩項招標。

Offshore Brazil, there are currently 36 floaters contracted, including four rigs that have yet to commence contracts. Petrobras now has three ongoing tenders, Hankador, Sepia and a recently issued tender for up to four rigs across multiple fields.

巴西近海目前已簽訂了 36 個浮式鑽井平台合同，其中包括 4 個尚未簽訂合約的鑽井平台。巴西國家石油公司目前正在進行三項招標：Hankador、Sepia 以及最近針對多個油田多達四台鑽井平台的招標。

While most of these awards are likely to go to rigs that are already in country, these work scopes will keep many rigs occupied into 2028 and 2029, showing the longevity of customer demand in Brazil. In addition, there is still potential for incremental demand through a combination of Petrobras and IOC programs.

雖然這些合約中的大部分可能會授予該國已有的鑽機，但這些工作範圍將使許多鑽機在 2028 年和 2029 年繼續使用，這表明巴西客戶需求的長期性。此外，透過巴西國家石油公司和國際石油公司的計畫結合，仍有可能增加需求。

In the Gulf of Mexico, we see several long-term opportunities on the radar and expect this market to remain fairly balanced with demand largely met by existing supply in the region.

在墨西哥灣，我們看到了幾個長期機會，並預計該市場將保持相當平衡，需求很大程度上由該地區現有的供應滿足。

Outside of the major floater markets, we see potential for incremental demand from Suriname, which given its proximity to Guyana, could become a strong growth market over the next few years.

在主要浮動市場之外，我們看到蘇利南的需求增量潛力，由於其靠近圭亞那，可能在未來幾年成為一個強勁成長的市場。

In Namibia, we anticipate that the significant exploration success over the past couple of years could lead to some long-term development programs commencing later in the decade. And we have also seen an uptick in demand in Southeast Asia with several operators looking at opportunities that could require incremental rigs in the region.

在納米比亞，我們預計過去幾年的重大勘探成功可能會導致一些長期開發計劃在本十年晚些時候開始。我們也看到東南亞的需求上升，一些業者正在尋找可能需要在該地區增加鑽孔機的機會。

Moving to shallow water. The global jackup market remains in a healthy place. The contracted rig count has increased in Southeast Asia, India, China, and West Africa over the past six months. And we have already seen at least six rigs that were suspended in Saudi Arabia earlier this year find work in other regions.

移至淺水區。全球自升式鑽井平台市場依然健康。過去六個月，東南亞、印度、中國和西非的合約鑽機數量增加。我們已經看到今年早些時候在沙烏地阿拉伯暫停的至少六台鑽井平台在其他地區找到了工作。

We expect that the remaining suspended rigs that elect to seat work outside Saudi Arabia can be absorbed with limited impact on the broader market and the expected suspensions of up to five additional rigs in Saudi Arabia does not alter our view.

我們預計，選擇在沙烏地阿拉伯境外開展工作的剩餘暫停鑽井平台可以被吸收，對更廣泛的市場影響有限，並且沙烏地阿拉伯最多五個額外鑽井平台的預期暫停不會改變我們的觀點。

In the North Sea, market conditions continue to improve with all 20 active jackups in the UK, Danish, and Dutch sectors currently contracted.

在北海，市場狀況持續改善，英國、丹麥和荷蘭地區所有 20 座活躍自升式鑽井平台目前均已收縮。

During the first half of 2024, we saw an increase in the number of contracts and total number of rig years awarded as compared to the same period last year. In addition, we have seen average day rates for new fixtures in the region increased to approximately $140,000 in the first half of 2024, and from $120,000 in the second half of 2023, with leading-edge day rates continuing to push higher.

2024年上半年，與去年同期相比，簽訂的合約數量和鑽機總年數有所增加。此外，我們還發現該地區新燈具的平均日費率從 2023 年下半年的 12 萬美元增至 2024 年上半年的約 14 萬美元，且領先的日費率繼續走高。

Customer interest remains strong, particularly for programs commencing in the second half of 2025. We are also encouraged by the increasing number of longer-term new energy and plug and abandonment programs that could result in incremental demand in this region.

客戶興趣依然濃厚，特別是 2025 年下半年啟動的專案。我們也對越來越多的長期新能源和即插即棄計劃感到鼓舞，這些計劃可能會導致該地區的需求增加。

In terms of our contracting priorities, we continue to have 2024 availability on just two of our 13 active floaters. DPS 5 recently completed its contract with ENI offshore Mexico and DS-10 will complete its contract with Shell offshore Nigeria in the coming days.

就我們的合約優先事項而言，我們的 13 艘活躍浮動船中只有 2 艘在 2024 年仍然可用。DPS 5 最近完成了與 ENI 墨西哥海上的合同，DS-10 將在未來幾天內完成與殼牌尼日利亞海上的合約。

We continue to see long-term opportunities for both rigs that are expected to start in the second half of 2025. And in the meantime, we are actively pursuing short-term opportunities.

我們繼續看到這兩個鑽井平台的長期機會，預計將於 2025 年下半年啟動。同時，我們正在積極尋求短期機會。

At the time of our last call, we were in active customer discussions for opportunities for both rigs that were expected to start in the third quarter. Subsequently, these programs have either been delayed, seen their work scopes reduced or been filled by sublets.

在我們上次通話時，我們正在與客戶積極討論，尋找預計在第三季啟動的兩台鑽孔機的機會。隨後，這些項目要么被推遲，要么工作範圍縮小，要么被轉租。

Currently, the available short-term opportunities for these rigs commenced in the fourth quarter. DS-12 is now expected to continue its current program with BP offshore Egypt into early next year, and the rig is well positioned for future opportunities, both offshore Africa and further afield.

目前，這些鑽孔機的可用短期機會從第四季度開始。DS-12 現在預計將在明年初繼續與 BP 埃及海上計畫合作，該鑽井平台已做好準備，可以在非洲海上和更遠的地方抓住未來的機會。

Given recent contracting and the expected exercise of priced options, we now anticipate that nearly 70% of 2025 available days for our active floater fleet or spoken for. Aside from the three rigs I just mentioned, the only other floaters with available days in 2025 or DS-8, which is currently working for Chevron in the US Gulf and our two semisubmersibles in Australia. We are already in active discussions regarding follow-on work for these rigs with either the existing customer or other operators with work programs that are expected to commence next year.

鑑於最近的合約和定價選擇權的預期行使，我們現在預計 2025 年我們的活躍浮動船隊的可用天數將有近 70% 或已使用。除了我剛才提到的三座鑽井平台外，唯一在2025 年可用的浮式鑽井平台是DS-8，目前正在為雪佛龍在美國海灣工作，還有我們在澳洲的兩座半潛式鑽井平台。我們已經在與現有客戶或其他業者就這些鑽孔機的後續工作進行積極討論，工作計畫預計將於明年開始。

In addition, we continue to see customer interest in our seventh generation drillships requiring reactivation, Valaris DS-11, DS-13 and DS-14, and we expect that the growing demand will provide increasingly attractive opportunities to put these rigs to work over time.

此外，我們繼續看到客戶對需要重新啟用的第七代鑽井船Valaris DS-11、DS-13 和DS-14 感興趣，我們預計不斷增長的需求將為這些鑽機隨著時間的推移提供越來越有吸引力的機會。

Looking at 2025 for our benign environment jackups, we have availability on the Valaris 117, 118, and 247, and we expect to secure work for these rigs that will keep them busy next year.

展望 2025 年，我們的環境良好的自升式鑽井平台，我們可以使用 Valaris 117、118 和 247，我們預計這些鑽井平台能夠在明年保持忙碌。

As Anton noted, discussions regarding recent suspension notices from Saudi Aramco are ongoing. While we do not know the exact form these suspensions will take, we are in discussions with Aramco on extensions for rigs that are due to complete their existing lease terms at the end of 2024 and or early part of 2025.

正如安東指出的那樣，有關沙烏地阿美公司最近暫停通知的討論正在進行中。雖然我們不知道這些暫停將採取的具體形式，但我們正在與沙特阿美討論延長鑽井平台的事宜，這些鑽井平台將於 2024 年底和/或 2025 年初完成現有租賃條款。

In terms of our North Sea jackups, as mentioned earlier, we recently secured additional work for 5 rigs in the region. With these contracts and options that we expect customers to exercise, we now see less than one year of availability across two of our active rigs during 2025.

就我們的北海自升式鑽井平台而言，如前所述，我們最近在該地區獲得了 5 座鑽井平台的額外工作。根據我們期望客戶執行的這些合約和選擇權，我們現在看到我們的兩個活躍鑽機在 2025 年期間的可用性不到一年。

We entered 2024 with our active North Sea fleet fully sold out for the year ahead. And based on our discussions with customers, we anticipate being in a similar position before the start of 2025.

進入 2024 年，我們活躍的北海船隊在未來一年已全部售罄。根據我們與客戶的討論，我們預計在 2025 年初之前將處於類似的境地。

In summary, we continue to focus on building contract backlog by securing attractive contracts at increasing day rates. We remain laser-focused on filling as many uncontracted days in 2024 as we can and securing term work commencing in 2025 and beyond that will further support our expected earnings and cash flow growth.

總而言之，我們繼續專注於透過以不斷增加的日費率獲得有吸引力的合約來建立合約積壓。我們仍然專注於在 2024 年盡可能多地填補未簽訂合約的天數，並確保 2025 年及以後開始的定期工作將進一步支持我們的預期收益和現金流增長。

I will now hand the call over to Chris to take you through the financials.

現在我將把電話轉給克里斯，讓他向您介紹財務狀況。

Thanks, Matt, and good morning and afternoon, everyone. In my prepared remarks, I will provide an overview of the second quarter results, our outlook for the third quarter and our guidance for the full year.

謝謝馬特，大家早安、下午好。在我準備好的演講中，我將概述第二季的業績、我們對第三季的展望以及我們對全年的指導。

Starting with our second-quarter results. Revenue was $610 million, up from $525 million in the prior quarter, and adjusted EBITDA was $139 million, up from $54 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back reactivation expense was $150 million, up from $84 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased meaningfully in the second quarter primarily due to higher utilization and average daily revenue for both the floater and jackup fleets, along with lower contract drilling expense.

從我們第二季的業績開始。營收為 6.1 億美元，高於上一季的 5.25 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.39 億美元，高於上一季的 5,400 萬美元。調整後的 EBITDAR（加上重新啟動費用）為 1.5 億美元，高於上一季的 8,400 萬美元。第二季調整後的 EBITDA 大幅成長，主要是由於浮式鑽井船隊和自升式鑽井船隊的利用率和平均每日收入提高，以及合約鑽井費用降低。

In the second quarter, floater revenues increased due to a full quarter of operations for Valaris DS-12 and DPS 5, which both commenced contracts during the first quarter, along with DS-7, which commenced operations offshore West Africa in late May, following the successful completion of its reactivation project.

第二季度，由於Valaris DS-12 和DPS 5 的整個季度運營，以及DS-7 的運營，浮式船收入有所增加，這兩家公司均在第一季度開始簽訂合同，DS-7 於5月底在西非近海開始運營，隨後其重新啟動計畫的成功完成。

In addition, Valaris DS-15 and DS-16 started new higher day rate contracts in the second quarter, which contributed to an increase in average daily revenue. Jackup revenues increased primarily due to higher utilization, including a full quarter of operations for Valaris 107, which commenced a contract offshore Australia during the first quarter.

此外，Valaris DS-15 和 DS-16 在第二季度啟動了新的更高日費率合同，這有助於平均每日收入的增長。自升式鑽井平台收入的成長主要是由於利用率的提高，包括 Valaris 107 整個季度的運營，該公司在第一季度在澳洲海上簽訂了一份合約。

In addition, Valaris 123 and Stavanger started new contracts in the North Sea during the second quarter, following out of service time in the first quarter, while the rigs were undergoing contract preparation survey work.

此外，在第一季度停止服務後，Valaris 123 和斯塔萬格於第二季度在北海簽訂了新合同，同時鑽井平台正在進行合約準備調查工作。

Contract drilling expense decreased in the second quarter, primarily due to lower reactivation expense for DSV as it completed its reactivation project. In addition, we incurred lower repair and maintenance expense for the jackup fleet as rigs return to work following out of service time for contract preparations and survey work in the first quarter.

第二季合約鑽井費用有所下降，主要是由於 DSV 完成其重新啟動專案後重新啟動費用減少。此外，隨著第一季合約準備和調查工作結束後鑽井平台恢復工作，我們的自升式鑽井船隊的維修和保養費用也有所降低。

These items were partially offset by increased operating costs for the floater fleet due to higher utilization and cost to stack Valaris DS-13 and DS-14. Our second quarter EBITDA came in better than our guidance, primarily due to three factors; strong operating performance as we achieved 99% revenue efficiency; certain contracts, including DS-10 and DPS 5 running longer than expected; and the timing of certain costs pushing into the second half of the year, primarily the third quarter.

這些項目被由於更高的利用率和堆疊 Valaris DS-13 和 DS-14 的成本而增加的浮式船隊運營成本所部分抵消。我們第二季的 EBITDA 好於我們的指導，主要歸因於三個因素；強勁的經營業績，我們實現了 99% 的營收效率；某些合同，包括 DS-10 和 DPS 5，運行時間比預期長；以及某些成本延後到下半年（主要是第三季）的時間。

This cost timing drove roughly half of the outperformance versus guidance and is primarily attributable to the timing of mobilizations and demobilizations and repair and maintenance spend.

這種成本時間安排導致績效優於指導值的大約一半，主要歸因於動員和復員以及維修和維護支出的時間安排。

Moving to our financial position. We had cash and cash equivalents of $410 million at the end of the quarter. Cash declined by $99 million during the quarter, primarily due to capital expenditures of $110 million, partially offset by cash generated from operations of $12 million.

轉向我們的財務狀況。截至本季末，我們的現金和現金等價物為 4.1 億美元。本季現金減少 9,900 萬美元，主要是由於 1.1 億美元的資本支出，部分被營運產生的 1,200 萬美元現金所抵銷。

In the second quarter, operating cash flow was negatively impacted by a large build in working capital, primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable driven by higher fleet utilization and the start-up of the DS-7 contract. Our $375 million revolving credit facility remains fully available, providing total liquidity of $785 million at the end of the quarter.

第二季度，營運現金流受到大量營運資金的負面影響，這主要是由於機隊利用率提高和 DS-7 合約啟動導致應收帳款增加。我們的 3.75 億美元循環信貸額度仍然完全可用，截至本季末提供的流動資金總額為 7.85 億美元。

Moving now to our third quarter outlook. We expect total revenues in the range of $610 million to $630 million. Contract drilling expense of $455 million to $465 million and G&A expense of approximately $30 million.

現在轉向我們的第三季展望。我們預計總收入在 6.1 億美元至 6.3 億美元之間。合約鑽井費用為 4.55 億至 4.65 億美元，一般管理費用約 3,000 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $120 million to $140 million compared to $139 million in the second quarter. EBITDA is expected to move lower due to the DPS-5 and DS-10, both being idle for the rest of the quarter after completing their latest contracts, the impact of costs that have shifted from the second quarter to the third quarter, out of service time and repair cost for jack-up Valaris 249 and the potential impact of Saudi Aramco contract suspensions for Valaris 147 and 148.

調整後 EBITDA 預計為 1.2 億至 1.4 億美元，而第二季為 1.39 億美元。由於 DPS-5 和 DS-10 在完成最新合約後本季度剩餘時間都處於閒置狀態，成本從第二季度轉移到第三季度，因此 EBITDA 預計將下降。成本，以及沙烏地阿美公司暫停Valaris 147 和148 合約的潛在影響。

These items are expected to be partially offset by a full quarter of operations for DSV, the recent commencement of the Valaris 247 contract in Australia following its mobilization from the North Sea and the DS-15 and DS-16 operating at higher day rates for a full quarter.

這些項目預計將被 DSV 整個季度的運營、最近在澳大利亞開始的 Valaris 247 合約以及 DS-15 和 DS-16 在較高日費率下的運營所部分抵消。

Regarding the Valaris 249, the rig recently incurred leg damage while moving off location in advance of its next contract. We currently estimate that the rig will be out of service for several weeks to complete the required repairs and that the total financial impact inclusive of out-of-service time and repair costs will range from $5 million to $10 million.

關於 Valaris 249，該鑽機最近在下一份合約之前搬離現場時發生了腿部損壞。我們目前估計，該鑽機將停駛數週才能完成所需的維修，包括停機時間和維修成本在內的總財務影響將在 500 萬美元至 1000 萬美元之間。

For the Valaris 247, I also want to flag that the mobilization revenue and expense associated with its move from the North Sea to Australia will be largely recognized during the third quarter because it will be amortized over the rig's initial 100-day contract, which commenced in mid-July.

對於Valaris 247，我還想指出，與從北海搬到澳大利亞相關的動員收入和費用將在第三季度得到很大程度上確認，因為它將在該鑽井平台最初的100 天合約中攤銷，該合約開始於七月中旬。

Total CapEx in the third quarter is expected to be $90 million to $100 million. Maintenance and upgrade CapEx is expected to be approximately $85 million, including spend related to the start of the Valaris 144 upgrade project prior to its long-term contract offshore Angola that is scheduled to commence early next year. Reactivation and associated contract-specific CapEx is expected to be approximately $10 million, primarily related to some trailing costs for DS-7.

第三季的總資本支出預計為 9,000 萬至 1 億美元。維護和升級資本支出預計約為 8500 萬美元，包括與 Valaris 144 升級項目啟動相關的支出，該項目將於明年初開始安哥拉海上長期合約。重新啟動和相關合約特定資本支出預計約為 1000 萬美元，主要與 DS-7 的一些後續成本有關。

Turning to our full year outlook. We are lowering our full-year EBITDA guidance range to $480 million to $540 million, with revenue in the range of $2.35 billion to $2.4 billion; contract drilling expense of approximately $1.75 billion and G&A expense of approximately $115 million.

轉向我們的全年展望。我們將全年 EBITDA 指引範圍下調至 4.8 億美元至 5.4 億美元，營收範圍為 23.5 億美元至 24 億美元；合約鑽井費用約 17.5 億美元，一般管理費用約 1.15 億美元。

We have updated the EBITDA guidance range, primarily due to the current outlook for the DS-10 and DPS-5 in the second half of the year. As Matt mentioned, the current available opportunities for short-term gap fill work are now starting during the fourth quarter, and this reduces our 2024 EBITDA potential. We need to secure work for one or both of the rigs in the fourth quarter to achieve the midpoint of the updated EBITDA range.

我們更新了 EBITDA 指導範圍，主要是由於 DS-10 和 DPS-5 下半年的當前前景。正如 Matt 所提到的，目前可用的短期缺口填補工作機會將於第四季度開始，這降低了我們 2024 年 EBITDA 的潛力。我們需要在第四季度確保一台或兩台鑽機的工作，以達到更新的 EBITDA 範圍的中點。

Our guidance also reflects the expected financial impact of the Valaris 249 leg damage I previously discussed as well as the potential impact of Saudi Aramco contract suspensions for Valaris 147 and 148, which, as Anton mentioned, could be up to $10 million this year.

我們的指導也反映了我之前討論過的Valaris 249 支腿損壞的預期財務影響，以及沙特阿美公司暫停Valaris 147 和148 合約的潛在影響，正如安東提到的，今年的影響可能高達1000 萬美元。

Full year 2024 capital expenditures are expected to total $450 million to $480 million. This is slightly higher than our prior guidance, primarily due to certain project-related costs being capitalized that were previously expected to be deferred expense.

2024 年全年資本支出預計總計 4.5 億至 4.8 億美元。這略高於我們先前的指導，主要是由於某些項目相關成本被資本化，而這些成本之前預計為遞延費用。

As a reminder, we expect that approximately $55 million of our full year 2024 CapEx will be reimbursed through upfront customer payments, most of which is expected to be received in the second half of the year.

提醒一下，我們預計 2024 年全年資本支出中約 5,500 萬美元將透過客戶預付款進行償還，其中大部分預計將在今年下半年收到。

Finally, we expect our free cash flow profile to improve in the second half of the year, driven by higher utilization in day rates and lower spend on reactivations and contract preparations.

最後，我們預計我們的自由現金流狀況將在今年下半年得到改善，這得益於日費率利用率的提高以及重新啟動和合約準備支出的降低。

I want to conclude by stepping back and noting that we've had a great first half of the year. And while there are a few discrete items that are impacting our results in the second half of the year, we are excited about the future and the outlook for our business remains very strong.

最後，我想回顧一下我們今年上半年的表現。儘管有一些離散項目影響了我們下半年的業績，但我們對未來感到興奮，我們的業務前景仍然非常強勁。

And now I'll hand the call back to Anton for some closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給安東，讓其作總結發言。

Thanks Chris. I want to reiterate some of the key points we covered today. First, I am proud of the strong safety, operating and financial performance that we delivered through the first half of the year. Congratulations to the entire Valaris team on an excellent six months.

謝謝克里斯。我想重申我們今天討論的一些要點。首先，我對我們上半年取得的強勁安全、營運和財務表現感到自豪。恭喜整個 Valaris 團隊度過了出色的六個月。

Second, we maintain our conviction in the strength and duration of the sub cycle and see strong customer demand for projects that are expected to commence in 2025 and 2026. And finally, we continue to execute on our strategy, securing new contracts at higher day rates that will support our expected earnings and cash flow growth over the next few years.

其次，我們對子週期的強度和持續時間保持信心，並看到客戶對預計於 2025 年和 2026 年啟動的專案的強勁需求。最後，我們繼續執行我們的策略，以更高的日費率獲得新合同，這將支持我們未來幾年的預期收益和現金流成長。

We believe that Valaris is well-positioned to benefit from strength and duration of this structural up cycle, and we thank our employees, customers and investors for their support.

我們相信，Valaris 處於有利地位，可以從這個結構性上升週期的強度和持續時間中受益，我們感謝我們的員工、客戶和投資者的支持。

We've now reached the end of our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the line for questions.

我們準備好的發言現在已經結束了。接線員，請開通提問線。

(Operator Instructions) The Greg Lewis, BTIG.

（操作員說明）Greg Lewis，BTIG。

Yes. Hi. Thank you. Good afternoon, and good afternoon, everybody. I was kind of hoping we could talk a little bit about capital allocation and how you're thinking about managing or returning Valaris cash flows to shareholders and that if we were to talk 6, 12 months ago, I'm sure most of us on this call would have thought, hey, the DS-14, 13, 11 are going to be reactivated because the market is that strong, and there's going to be CapEx associated with bringing those rigs on.

是的。你好。謝謝。下午好，大家下午好。我有點希望我們能談談資本配置以及您如何考慮管理 Valaris 現金流或將其返還給股東，如果我們在 6、12 個月前談論，我相信我們大多數人都在這個電話會議可能會認為，嘿，DS-14、13、11 將被重新激活，因為市場如此強勁，並且將有與啟用這些鑽機相關的資本支出。

Markets definitely improved. But at least as we think about the next 12 to 18 months and the rigs that are idle on the sidelines, whether it's Valaris or others, and just that CapEx that we're signing to reactivate those rigs, it's just going to be put on hold for a little while. Does that kind of change the way you think about your capital allocation? And maybe does that provide an opportunity for you to accelerate returning cash to shareholders over the next 12 to 18 months?

市場確實有所改善。但至少當我們考慮未來 12 到 18 個月以及閒置的鑽機時，無論是 Valaris 還是其他鑽機，以及我們簽署的用於重新激活這些鑽機的資本支出，它就會被投入使用保持一會兒。這會改變您對資本配置的看法嗎？也許這為您提供了在未來 12 至 18 個月內加速向股東返還現金的機會？

Yeah, it's a good question, Greg. Look, we've been very clear about our capital return thoughts and how we were going to demonstrate that to shareholders. We returned capital to shareholders last year. We've spent a significant amount of cash in the first half of the year, getting the 7% to work and are going to generate increasing amounts of cash as we roll legacy contracts onto new contracts and as we go into 2025, a real inflection point for us as a company. I don't think we feel differently about 13 and the 14.

是的，這是個好問題，格雷格。看，我們已經非常清楚我們的資本回報想法以及我們將如何向股東證明這一點。去年我們向股東返還了資本。今年上半年，我們花費了大量現金，讓 7% 發揮作用，並且隨著我們將舊合同轉入新合同，以及進入 2025 年，我們將產生越來越多的現金，這是一個真正的拐點對我們公司來說。我認為我們對 13 和 14 的感覺沒有什麼不同。

There's a strong pipeline of opportunities, as we said, coming through in the latter half of 2025 and into 2026. In fact, as we see it now, we operate high specification, 12 of our 13 ships or seventh Gen and we can see a call on those assets evolving in the second half of next year and going into 2026. So we still see great opportunities for the 13 and 14 going forward.

正如我們所說，2025 年下半年到 2026 年將會出現大量機會。事實上，正如我們現在所看到的，我們經營著高規格的船舶，13 艘船舶中的12 艘或第七代，我們可以看到對這些資產的需求將在明年下半年持續到2026 年。因此，我們仍然認為 13 和 14 未來有很大的機會。

But we've been very clear on our capital return philosophy when we're generating cash, and we're heading in that direction over the next period, and we're going to return it all to shareholders. We have capacity available under our authorization right now -- when we put in place, we said it would not be necessarily linear through the year, and we're going to be opportunistic in it. And we will look with that commitment, and we intend to return cash to shareholders.

但當我們產生現金時，我們的資本回報理念非常明確，我們將在下一個時期朝著這個方向前進，我們將把它全部返還給股東。我們現在擁有授權下的可用產能——當我們到位時，我們說這不一定是全年線性的，我們將在其中抓住機會。我們將履行這項承諾，並打算向股東返還現金。

Great. Yes, no, that makes a lot of sense. And then just -- in one of those signs that the market is tightening for the high-end drillship market, you were able to contract the DS-17, where the company -- the customer was willing to pay a standby rate just so that they could have that rig ready when they needed to start drilling there. Could you talk a little bit about the dynamics of the DS 17 and how that rig was positioned to really get paid a pretty attractive standby rate for a couple of quarters as it waits for its next job?

偉大的。是的，不，這很有意義。然後，高端鑽井船市場正在收緊的跡象之一是，您能夠簽訂 DS-17 合同，該公司的客戶願意支付備用費率，以便當他們需要在那裡開始鑽探時，他們可以準備好該鑽機。您能否談談 DS 17 的動態，以及該設備如何定位，以便在等待下一個工作的幾個季度內真正獲得相當有吸引力的備用費率？

Absolutely. As I just said in my answer to your capital question, we see a strong pipeline in 2025 and going into 2026, tight market for the high-specification assets. The DS-17 is a very high-specification assets. Equinor is a great customer. We had a great partnership with it. The crews have done a great job on the Bakala development with that rig. They partnered with us and invested significant amounts of money into the rig on innovative technology.

絕對地。正如我剛才在回答您的資本問題時所說，我們看到 2025 年會有強勁的管道，進入 2026 年，高規格資產的市場將會緊張。DS-17 是一種規格非常高的資產。Equinor 是一位很棒的客戶。我們與它建立了良好的合作關係。工作人員使用該鑽機在巴卡拉開發方面做得非常出色。他們與我們合作，並在鑽孔機的創新技術上投入了大量資金。

We have the thematic robotic arms on it, a lot of automation on that rig. So they have confidence in the rig to do their going to the higher development. They have confidence in the rig to deliver that development. And I think it's a testament to where the market is going, having good customer relationships -- and operators recognizing where the market is going to be in the latter half of next year and going into 2026 that for the right asset that they're willing to invest and spend money to secure the assets so that it's available to them. And I think that's one of -- it's a great signal of where we see the market going.

我們有主題機械手臂，該設備上有很多自動化設備。因此，他們對鑽孔機走向更高的發展充滿信心。他們對鑽井平台能夠實現這項開發充滿信心。我認為這證明了市場的走向，擁有良好的客戶關係，營運商認識到明年下半年的市場走向，並進入 2026 年，他們願意選擇合適的資產投資和花錢來保護資產，以便他們可以使用。我認為這是一個很好的信號，表明我們看到市場的走向。

Perfect. Thank you very much for the time.

完美的。非常感謝您抽出時間。

Eddie Kim, Barclays.

埃迪金，巴克萊銀行。

Just wanted to follow up on that DS-7 contract Yeah, I mean as Greg alluded to, I mean, the standby rate for 180 days, and that's probably the longest paid standby period we've seen maybe since the 2014 downturn. It does look like it could be a strong read-through for your other reactivated rigs. Would you say operators for your other reactivated floaters have invested maybe a similar amount as Equinor did on the DS-17, was that Ecuador investment into the DS-17, probably more elevated and kind of more of a one-off than the others?

只是想跟進DS-7 合約是的，我的意思是，正如格雷格所提到的，我的意思是，180 天的待機率，這可能是自2014 年經濟低迷以來我們見過的最長的付費待機期。它看起來確實可以為您的其他重新激活的裝備提供強有力的通讀。您是否會說，其他重新啟動的漂浮物的運營商所投資的金額可能與Equinor 在DS-17 上的投資金額相似，厄瓜多爾對DS-17 的投資可能比其他項目更高，而且更像是一次性的？

No. I mean Equinor is a very forward-leaning technology company. A lot of that technology automation desire for automation technology comes out of the North Sea, Norway, in particular. So they invested capital in the rig to, as I mentioned, the AtharTXs and some other automation. I think as much reading is the timing of that and when that program is going to be starting up and where we see the strong pipeline of opportunities that are coming to the market, I think Matt referenced in his prepared remarks, 30 opportunities and potentially 20 of those being awarded in the next 12 months.

不。我的意思是 Equinor 是一家非常前瞻性的科技公司。許多對自動化技術的渴望來自北海，尤其是挪威。因此，正如我所提到的，他們在 AtharTX 和其他一些自動化設備上投資了資金。我認為，盡可能多的閱讀是關於該計劃何時啟動以及我們看到大量機會即將進入市場的時機，我認為馬特在他準備好的演講中提到了 30 個機會和潛在的 20 個機會未來12 個月內獲得獎勵的人。

And as we roll forward a year from now, seeing that once the high-spec assets, like the 17, the seventh-gen drillships are taken up, there is a good potential for a coal on additional assets. And that's why we feel really good about the 11, the 13 and the 14, when you consider that a reactivation takes about a year to do that for that period, where we are sitting now -- from now towards the end of next year and heading into the first quarter of next year, we continue to have discussions with customers on those rigs. Those customers have been ongoing, but we're not in a rush. Those assets are increasingly going to be called on, and we will wait for the right opportunity. And as we see if those opportunities get more attractive as time goes by when we line it up against the pipeline of opportunities in late 2025 and heading into 2026.

當我們從現在開始一年後，看到一旦高規格資產，如第七代鑽井船 17 被佔用，額外資產上的煤炭就有很大的潛力。這就是為什麼我們對 11 號、13 號和 14 號感到非常滿意，因為你認為在那個時期重新啟動需要大約一年的時間，我們現在所處的位置 - 從現在到明年年底，進入明年第一季度，我們將繼續與客戶就這些鑽孔機進行討論。這些客戶一直持續，但我們並不著急。這些資產將越來越多地被調用，我們將等待合適的機會。當我們將其與 2025 年底和 2026 年的機會管道進行比較時，我們會發現隨著時間的推移，這些機會是否會變得更具吸引力。

Got it. And my follow-up is just on the two jackup suspension notices on the Valaris 147 and 148 you mentioned having discussions on whether maybe other Valaris leased rigs could be suspended instead. Could you maybe give us some more insight here? I know you have some other rigs that are expected to come off contract earlier than the 147 to 148. Is that really the main factor here? Or is there something else?

知道了。我的後續行動只是關於您提到的關於 Valaris 147 和 148 的兩個自升式鑽井平台暫停通知，我們正在討論是否可以暫停其他 Valaris 租賃鑽井平台。您能給我們更多的見解嗎？我知道你們還有一些其他鑽孔機預計會比 147 至 148 更早到期。這真的是主要因素嗎？或是還有別的什麼嗎？

And separately, just to clarify, I believe I heard you say you expected around five more jackups suspended from Saudi across their fleet, which would bring the total this, I guess, second round to around 7 suspended jackups. Did I hear that correctly?

另外，為了澄清一下，我相信我聽到你說你預計沙特的船隊中還會有大約五艘自升式鑽井平台被懸掛，這將使第二輪懸掛的自升式鑽井平台總數達到大約7 艘。我沒聽錯嗎？

Yes. So let me start off. Arrow, JV, just received these notices in the last week. So I won't like late-breaking news. So while the notices were received for 2 lease rigs, the 147 and the 148, we're in discussions with Arrow and with Aramco, and these are productive, constructive discussions. We may look at instead suspending another leased rig or an Arrow-owned rig. So we're just going to have to see how those discussions develop. So which rigs may be suspended and the timing of those still needs to be determined.

是的。那麼就讓我開始吧。Arrow, JV 上週剛收到這些通知。所以我不喜歡最新的新聞。因此，雖然收到了 147 和 148 2 座租賃鑽井平台的通知，但我們正在與 Arrow 和阿美公司進行討論，這些討論是富有成效的、建設性的。我們可能會考慮暫停另一台租賃的鑽孔機或 Arrow 擁有的鑽孔機。所以我們只能看看這些討論如何發展。因此，哪些鑽機可能被暫停以及暫停的時間仍需確定。

Taking a step back from these specific rigs, you said, yes, five, we expect five, I mean, based on what we understand from discussions in the market. But in context, those two rigs, if it was those two rigs, the 147 to 148 is about $10 million of EBITDA, which is part of the adjustments we've made going through the year. But for context, this is $35 million of backlog out of $4.3 billion for Valaris. So I think we need to take that number in context.

從這些特定的鑽機退後一步，您說，是的，五個，我們預計五個，我的意思是，根據我們從市場討論中了解到的情況。但在上下文中，這兩台鑽孔機，如果是那兩台鑽孔機，147 至 148 的 EBITDA 約為 1000 萬美元，這是我們今年所做調整的一部分。但就背景而言，Valaris 的 43 億美元積壓訂單中有 3,500 萬美元。所以我認為我們需要結合具體情況來考慮這個數字。

On those five rigs that are purported to be suspended is about 1% of global marketed jack-ups in a market where we have 93% utilization right now from the first series of suspensions, the 22 earlier this year, a number of those rigs have made a very orderly transition into the international market, and we see leading-edge day rates in the benign jack-up markets still north of $150,000 a day as we've seen fixtures from us and others in the market. So this is not a fundamental change in the jackup market as we see it, and we feel good about the jack-up market and these rigs like the others. Those that are competitive in the international market and not all of those rigs are competitive in the international market, we'll continue to make an orderly transition.

據稱被暫停的這5 座鑽井平台約佔全球銷售的自升式鑽井平台的1%，從今年稍早的第一輪暫停（即今年稍早的22 座）來看，我們目前的市場利用率為93%。 。因此，正如我們所見，這並不是自升式鑽井平台市場的根本性變化，我們對自升式鑽井平台市場和這些鑽井平台和其他鑽井平台一樣感覺良好。那些在國際市場上有競爭力的鑽孔機，並不是所有的鑽孔機在國際市場上都有競爭力，我們將繼續有序過渡。

Yes. But just to be really clear, Aero got decisions for two rigs and the discussions we're having about or which rigs, not if is more risk, just which rigs.

是的。但需要明確的是，Aero 做出了關於兩台鑽孔機的決定，以及我們正在討論哪些鑽孔機，而不是是否風險更大，只是哪些鑽孔機。

Understood. Thanks for that color. I'll turn it back.

明白了。謝謝那個顏色。我會把它轉回來。

Kurt Hallead, Benchmark.

庫爾特·哈勒德，基準。

Hey, I just wanted to maybe dig a little bit further. You referenced -- went through the market dynamics, it went through the segmentation of the floater market. We kind of heard from one of your peers already this morning. So I just want to try to calibrate. So when you take everything in aggregate that you expect to see, let's say, through 2026, what do you think the net incremental 7G deepwater rate demand could be?

嘿，我只是想進一步挖掘一下。你提到——經歷了市場動態，經歷了浮動市場的細分。今天早上我們已經收到你的一位同事的來信了。所以我只想嘗試校準。因此，當您將您期望看到的所有內容匯總起來時（比方說，到 2026 年），您認為 7G 深水速率淨增量需求可能是多少？

So hey, Kurt, Matt here. So I think from -- we're talking about, if you remember from my prepared remarks, you're talking about the some of 30 opportunities we're seeing that are longer than a year in duration, but across the 30 have an average of 2.5 years. I think if you're putting a number on it, you're likely to see about 10 of those 30 provide potential incremental opportunities.

嘿，庫爾特，馬特在這裡。所以我認為，如果你還記得我準備好的發言，你正在談論我們看到的 30 個持續時間超過一年的機會中的一些，但是這 30 個機會的平均2.5年。我認為，如果你給出一個數字，你可能會發現這 30 個中的大約 10 個提供了潛在的增量機會。

Now that's incremental to the region. And I think your question is breaking it down into seventh gen. Obviously, we know that customers have a preference for 7th gen rates, and 12 of our 13 drillships are 7th gen rigs. So I think 10 incremental potential, but I wouldn't suggest that all 10 would be filled by sideline capacity.

現在，這對該地區來說是增量的。我認為你的問題是將其分解為第七代。顯然，我們知道客戶對第七代鑽機有偏好，我們的 13 艘鑽井船中有 12 艘是第七代鑽機。所以我認為有 10 個增量潛力，但我不建議所有 10 個都由副業產能來填補。

But what I will say to that is as we roll forward, as I say, we roll for 12 months, 25 going into 26, a potential coal inside line capacity on expectation for coal sideline capacity. The reason why we feel good about it is when you look at sideline capacity, the 11, 13 and the 14 are the highest-spec rigs in that sideline capacity. So there -- we expect there to be good opportunities for those rigs going forward.

但我要說的是，隨著我們向前推進，正如我所說，我們將滾動 12 個月，從 25 個月到 26 個月，根據煤炭副業產能的預期，潛在的煤炭內線產能。我們對此感覺良好的原因是，當您查看副線容量時，11、13 和 14 是該副線容量中規格最高的鑽孔機。因此，我們預計這些鑽機未來將有很好的機會。

Okay. That's great. And then the follow-up I have then is when you guys are obviously having a very shareholder-friendly capital allocation program, right. How are you targeting or what is your target in terms of free cash flow conversion on expected EBITDA going forward?

好的。那太棒了。然後我的後續行動是，你們顯然有一個非常有利於股東的資本配置計劃，對吧。在未來預期 EBITDA 的自由現金流轉換方面，您的目標如何或您的目標是什麼？

Yes. We don't have a specific target from a conversion perspective. But what I'd say, we remain committed to returning capital to shareholders. As Anton mentioned, we've got significant capacity under the existing authorization. We intend to use that. It's not going to be linear. We're going to be opportunistic. But as I mentioned on the call, we expect the free cash flow profile of the business to improve in the second half of the year.

是的。從轉換角度來看，我們沒有具體的目標。但我想說的是，我們仍然致力於向股東返還資本。正如安東所提到的，我們在現有授權下擁有強大的產能。我們打算使用它。它不會是線性的。我們會投機取巧。但正如我在電話中提到的，我們預計該業務的自由現金流狀況將在今年下半年得到改善。

And looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, that's really part of the transition to where we start generating meaningful and sustained free cash flow. And like Anton mentioned, we intend to return it all to the shareholders unless there's a better and more value accretive use for it.

展望 2025 年及以後，這確實是我們開始產生有意義且持續的自由現金流的過渡的一部分。正如安東所提到的，我們打算將其全部返還給股東，除非有更好、更增值的用途。

Okay. Great. And then if I just may just wrap it with this. If -- would you -- a general comment here, right, nothing specific, but do you expect there to be another round of M&A within the offshore drilling space before the end of the year?

好的。偉大的。然後我可以用這個包裹它嗎？如果——您願意——在這裡發表一般性評論，對吧，沒有什麼具體內容，但您是否預計今年年底前海上鑽探領域會出現另一輪併購？

No, I'm going to ask two questions. Not only is there going to be more before the end of the year. Look, timing and contracting and timing and M&A is both very hard to predict with certainty. I think there is definitely room for additional M&A in this business.

不，我要問兩個問題。不僅在年底之前還會有更多。看，簽約時間和併購時間都很難準確預測。我認為這個產業絕對有額外併購的空間。

Looking at it from a Valaris perspective, some of this M&A has occurred in the business because people didn't have high-spec capacity and needed to go and buy that capacity through M&A. We're in a very fortunate position, having 12 or 13 of our ships being 7th gen and still having 7th gen organic available capacity to be able to grow into a market that we see as highly, highly constructive.

從 Valaris 的角度來看，有些併購發生在企業中，因為人們沒有高規格的產能，需要透過併購來購買這種產能。我們處於一個非常幸運的位置，我們有 12 或 13 艘第七代船，並且仍然擁有第七代有機可用容量，能夠發展成為一個我們認為非常非常有建設性的市場。

That being said, we're very pro M&A. We will look at opportunities. And if it is -- makes sense, creates value and is accretive to shareholders, we will absolutely engage in it. And I think there's definitely room for more of it in this business.

話雖如此，我們非常支持併購。我們將尋找機會。如果它是有意義的、創造價值並且能為股東帶來增值，我們絕對會參與其中。我認為這個行業肯定還有更多的空間。

David Smith, Pickering Energy Partners.

大衛史密斯，皮克林能源合作夥伴。

Congratulations on the solid quarter and the solid jackup contracts in particular, really nice rate off of Trinidad. And I just wanted to ask if this was an agreed upon rate before April or just a confirmation of the point you've made in the past that some markets will see minimal or no direct competition from the Saudi suspensions.

祝賀穩定的季度和穩定的自升式鑽井合同，特別是特立尼達的利率非常好。我只是想問，這是否是四月份之前商定的利率，或者只是對您過去提出的觀點的確認，即一些市場將看到沙特暫停的直接競爭很少或沒有。

Yes, it's the latter. I mean that discussion continued to -- up until the point where the contract was finalized and announced recently. So that data point is known during the -- and after the first round of Saudi suspension. So you're right, it's indicative that certain markets and certainly, certain customers are focused on securing the top end assets for their future developments.

是的，是後者。我的意思是，討論一直持續到最近最終確定並宣布合約為止。因此，該數據點是在沙烏地阿拉伯第一輪暫停期間以及之後已知的。所以你是對的，這表明某些市場，當然還有某些客戶，專注於確保其未來發展的高端資產。

Great. And one follow-up. We've seen lead times for all border rig contracts shrinking versus last year outside of the Gulf of Mexico at least. We can't see your negotiations sister contracts, but I wanted to ask if your discussions are also reflecting shrinking lead times compared to last year. So maybe we shouldn't be too nervous about a slower recent pace of contracting and implications for first half 2025 availability?

偉大的。還有一個後續行動。我們發現，至少在墨西哥灣以外地區，所有邊境鑽井合約的交貨時間都比去年縮短。我們看不到你們談判的姊妹合同，但我想問你們的討論是否也反映出與去年相比交貨時間縮短。因此，也許我們不應該對近期簽約速度放緩以及對 2025 年上半年可用性的影響過於緊張？

I'll start with the end of your question. I mean, we are not concerned about the pace of contracting. Contracting in this business is not linear through the year. And I think we going to be careful when we look at data, it may be as much a mix question as it is a general train question. Different geographies are very different contract lead times and contract execution times, whether you're in kind of formal Petrobras or West Africa negotiations where there may be NOCs involved versus a number of more direct negotiations.

我將從你問題的結尾開始。我的意思是，我們並不關心收縮的速度。該業務的合約全年並不是線性的。我認為我們在查看數據時要小心，這可能是一個混合問題，也是一個一般的火車問題。不同地區的合約交付時間和合約執行時間有很大不同，無論您是在進行正式的巴西國家石油公司談判還是西非談判，其中可能涉及國家石油公司，而不是進行一些更直接的談判。

So there can be a mix component, a geography component. Overall, we see lead times increasing, especially when you look at where we expect demand to be -- supply/demand to be kind of late 2025 and into -- so we see some of these lead times stretching out. And as much as that, we see contract durations continuing to extend. And of course, we see day rates continuing to grind higher with six fixtures. So just after halfway through the year above $500,000 a day versus only two last year. So all of those components lead us to be quite constructive on where that market is going.

所以可以有一個混合組件，一個地理組件。總體而言，我們認為交貨時間正在增加，特別是當你考慮我們預計的需求情況時——供應/需求將在 2025 年末和之前出現——因此我們看到其中一些交貨時間延長了。儘管如此，我們看到合約期限繼續延長。當然，我們看到六場比賽的日費率繼續走高。今年過半後，每天的收入就超過了 50 萬美元，而去年只有 2 美元。因此，所有這些組成部分使我們對該市場的走向非常有建設性。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Nick Georgas for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回尼克·喬治加斯（Nick Georgas）發表閉幕詞。

Thanks, Drew, and thank you to everyone on today's call for your interest in Valaris. We look forward to --

謝謝德魯，也感謝參加今天電話會議的所有人對 Valaris 的興趣。我們期待--

Just one moment. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

就一會兒。會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。