One worker has died and four remain missing after Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5 jack-up rig sank offshore Gabon late on October 24, during preparations for a drilling campaign that had not yet begun.
The incident occurred at about 20:37 local time near Mayumba, on BW Energy’s Dussafu Marin licence. Borr Drilling said preliminary information pointed to a “punch-through” during preload operations, when a rig leg penetrates softer seabed sediment, causing a sudden loss of stability.
The company said the rig subsequently sank, and 110 of the 115 people aboard were safely accounted for.
Borr Drilling has activated its emergency response team and is coordinating with Gabonese authorities and BW Energy. The deceased worker was reportedly an Indian national, while the four still missing include three Gabonese nationals and another expatriate.
Gabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Gas has activated a crisis unit, reinforced naval search-and-rescue operations, and ordered a technical investigation. The neighboring Republic of Congo has also deployed naval resources, while authorities are preparing to use remotely operated underwater vehicles to examine the sunken rig.
BW Energy confirmed that production at the MaBoMo facility was shut down under standard procedures. It said there was no reported damage to the facility or related equipment, and no accidental discharge of harmful substances into the sea.
The Prospector 5, owned and operated by Borr Drilling, had been contracted to drill four production wells at the Hibiscus and Hibiscus South fields under BW Energy’s MaBoMo Phase 2 program.
“We are deeply concerned for those who remain unaccounted for and everyone affected by this incident,” Borr Drilling CEO Bruno Morand said. “Our immediate priority is supporting the ongoing search and rescue efforts and the welfare of all personnel involved.”
