UK-based offshore drilling contractor Valaris has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, offering creditors to swap some $6.5 billion of its $7.8-billion debt pile for equity. The company is the largest offshore rig owner in the world. Valaris follows Diamond Offshore Drilling and Noble Corp in bankruptcy court as the offshore drilling segment suffers the hardest blow from the latest oil industry crisis. The company has been in luck: about half of its bondholders have agreed to the proposed deal, which will allow the company to clear up most of its debt, the Wall Street Journal reports , quoting Valaris chief executive Tom Burke as saying the pandemic was likely to cause an extended downturn in the industry. “The substantial downturn in the energy sector, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires that we take this step to create a stronger company able to adapt to the prolonged […]