Houston-based energy player Vaalco Energy has begun its 2025/2026 drilling program off the coast of Gabon with a jack-up rig owned by Borr Drilling, an offshore drilling player.
After securing a drilling rig in December 2024 for its Phase Three Drilling Program , with an affiliate of Borr Drilling, Vaalco has confirmed the start of drilling activities offshore Gabon with the spudding of the ET-15 infill well on the Etame platform .
George Maxwell , Vaalco’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are excited to commence our drilling campaign in offshore Gabon and are beginning the near-term series of value creation catalysts that we outlined to the market in our Capital Markets Day presentation this past May.
“The drilling rig arrived in late November, and we have spud our first well, the ET-15. We are initiating the program at the Etame platform with this infill well and the pilot holes. After drilling at the Etame platform, we expect to move the rig to the SEENT and Ebouri platforms where we have several wells and workovers planned to enhance production, lower costs and potentially add reserves.”
The 2011-built Norve jack-up rig, featuring PPL Pacific Class 400 design, is currently working for the company in the African country. The rig will drill multiple development and appraisal/exploration wells, as well as perform workovers. The U.S. player’s rig contract comes with options to drill additional wells.
“As we enter 2026, with major projects underway in both Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire, we are looking to drive meaningful growth that we believe will translate into value for our shareholders for the remainder of the decade,” added Maxwell.
As part of the Etame Marin field reconfiguration, Vaalco replaced the BW Offshore -owned FPSO Petroleo Nautipa with the FSO Teli . The acquisition of Svenska Petroleum Exploration enabled the U.S. player to enrich its asset portfolio with an offshore block in Côte d’Ivoire.