Borr secures Gulf jackup work as Odfjell lands Equinor deal and Velesto divests unit

Borr gets more work for drilling rigs offshore US, Mexico

Borr Drilling won work this week for two of its jackups in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eni has extended the Ran’s contract offshore Mexico to March with a further well, which is expected to take 75 days to drill.

Remaining options under the contract allow for 240 more days of extension beyond the end of the new committed term.

In the US Gulf, the client (unnamed) has reserved the Odin jackup for two firm wells plus one optional well. The campaign is set to start in mid-2026. Borr estimates 60 days per well.

Following this new commitment, Cantium has activated an option mechanism in the rig’s previously announced contract to work in the US Gulf for six months, starting in January 2027.

Equinor, Odfjell Drilling ink semisub contract

In Europe, Equinor and Odfjell Drilling signed contract terms Dec. 19 for use of the Deepsea Aberdeen semisub offshore Norway for an unspecified period before the rig moves to the Fram Sør development project in the North Sea.

Work will start during the fourth quarter, in direct continuation of the rig’s present contract with Equinor and will likely continue through first-quarter 2029. It adds about $373 million to Odfjell’s firm order backlog.

Velesto divests wholly owned subsidiary

In Malaysia, Velesto Malaysian Ventures entered an agreement to sell its full equity interest in Velesto Workover to Enviros Survey & Consultancy for RM16.5 million (US$4 million) at the end of December. 

The operation performs workover services as part of Velesto’s upstream oil and gas services offering. The transaction should be completed by mid-year.