Vaalco takes Borr rig for Etame drilling campaign

Houston-based oil and gas company Vaalco Energy has hired one of Borr Drilling’s jack-up rigs for its 2021/2022 drilling program on the Etame field off Gabon.

Vaalco said on Wednesday that its 2021/2022 drilling program was set to begin later this year. The contract for the rig was executed with Borr Drilling subsidiary Borr Jack-Up XIV Inc.

Although Vaalco did not state which rig it would use, Borr Jack-Up XIV is the owner of the Norve rig.

The work under the contract is for the drilling of two development wells and two appraisal wellbores with options to drill additional wells.

The contract provides, among other things, that the drilling rig can be on location as early as December of this year, with the exact timing dependent on other commitments related to the rig.

George Maxwell, chief executive officer of Vaalco Energy, said: “We continue to work with our joint owners at Etame on our shared goal of executing another successful drilling campaign that can significantly add production and reserves.

“Success on all four wells contained within the drilling campaign could result in an increase in production of 7,000 to 8,000 gross barrels of oil per day and significant reserve additions of up to 10.2 million barrels of oil for the two appraisal wellbores that would be converted from resources into 2P reserves at year-end 2022. We are excited to get our next drilling campaign underway later this year.

“With the benefit of our hedging program, our capital commitments over the next 12 months are expected to be fully funded through our cash flow and cash on hand. Additionally, we have several initiatives underway geared toward maximizing our netbacks”.

According to data provided by Borr Drilling’s latest fleet report, it signed a letter of intent for the Norve rig with an undisclosed client. It further states that the work would take place from December 2021 to April 2022 in West Africa – all consistent with the now signed deal with Vaalco Energy.