Borr Drilling’s Rig Up for 120-Day Drilling Campaign off West Africa

Illustration (Credit: Borr Drilling)

Lime Petroleum, a subsidiary of Rex International, has signed a contract with Borr Drilling’s affiliate Borr Gerd Limited for a jack-up drilling rig, which will be used in a campaign offshore Benin in West Africa.

Lime Petroleum signed up the Gerd jack-up drilling rig for a 120-day drilling campaign at Sèmè field.

The field, operated by Akrake Petroleum Benin, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lime Petroleum, was discovered by Union Oil in 1969.

It was first developed by Norwegian oil company, Saga Petroleum, and had produced approximately 22 MMbbl between 1982 and 1998, before production was stopped prematurely due to low oil prices of around $14 per barrel in 1998.

Akrake, which holds an approximately 76% working interest in the Sèmè field, aims to submit a field development plan to the Ministry of Energy, Water and Mines, and restart production in the field in the second half of 2025.

According to Borr Drilling’s fleet status report, the Gerd jack-up rig has started operations with Eni offshore Congo in early December 2024. Under the contract, the rig will stay with Eni until May 2025.

After that, it will begin operations with Lime Petroleum, from June until September 2025.

Gerd jack-up is of PPL Pacific Class 400 design, built in 2018. It can operate at water depths of 400 ft, with maximum drilling capacity at 30,000 ft. The rig can accommodate 150 people.