An Indian national, one of the five initially unaccounted for, ended up found dead, according to a Reuters report. The remaining four missing include three Gabonese nationals and one other expatriate, the sources said in the report.
The government has not confirmed the death, instead saying five people remain missing and search efforts were ongoing.
A punch through is when a spudcan on the leg of a jack-up leg suddenly and unexpectedly punches through the seabed. It can lead to loss of stability, which appears to have occurred with Prospector 5, causing the jack-up to capsize.
The Prospector 5 oil and gas rig, owned and operated by Borr, is under contract to support BW Energy’s drilling operations off Gabon. The rig had not yet begun drilling.
Starting Jacking Operations
BW Energy confirmed the rig was undertaking jacking operations in preparation for a planned drilling campaign when the incident occurred.
Prospector 5 is at the Dussafu Marin permit, a license off the Gabon coast. BW Energy holds a 73.5 percent working interest in the license, with Panoro Energy holding 17.5 percent.
Gabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Gas said it had activated a crisis unit. It also ordered the navy to reinforce search and rescue operations at sea. The ministry also ordered a technical investigation, Petroleum and Gas Minister Clotaire Kondja said in a statement.
The crisis unit brings together the ministry, the navy, state oil company Gabon Oil, BW Energy and Borr Drilling, Kondja said.
The incident occurred at 9:40 p.m. Saturday in the Dussafu Marin permit area near the Mabomont production facility, the ministry said.
Prospector 5 jack-up rig in the process of sinking off the coast of Mayumba, Gabon, Africa.
Source: Screenshot/Youtube
“We are deeply concerned for those who remain unaccounted for and everyone affected by this incident,” said Borr Drilling Chief Executive Bruno Morand.
Panoro Energy said production had been halted, adding there were no reports of damage or accidental discharges.
No discharge of harmful substances has been observed, the ministry said, adding that pollution-response resources remained deployed to protect the coastline and nearby Mayumba National Park.
Investigating Cause
Borr Drilling confirmed it was working with its partners and authorities looking into the cause of the incident.
Built in 2014, the Prospector 5 is an F&G JU-2000E type jack-up drilling rig with a maximum operating water depth of 400 feet and a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 feet.
A jack-up drilling rig is a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) that features a buoyant hull and three to four independent movable legs. It floats like a ship while tugs tow or move it to a site. It then lowers its legs to the seafloor and lifts its entire working platform above the water’s surface to stay clear of waves and tides.