Vaalco Energy has delayed the start of its offshore Gabon drilling campaign, with operations now expected to commence in the fourth quarter. The move follows earlier plans for a mid-year start using the Norve jackup rig, chartered from Borr Drilling in December 2024.
Originally scheduled to begin operations at Vaalco’s Etame licence by mid-2025, the Norve was later anticipated to arrive by the end of the third quarter. According to the company’s third-quarter results, drilling will now begin once the rig completes its current engagement. Borr’s latest fleet update shows the Norve wrapping up work for ConocoPhillips in Equatorial Guinea this month.
Vaalco plans to deploy the Norve for a series of development, appraisal, and exploration wells, along with several workovers. Drilling will take place at the Etame and Seent platforms, as well as in the Ebouri field, where the company intends to re-enter and perform workovers to access reserves previously removed from proved reserves due to hydrogen sulphide.
Earlier this year, the company carried out a full-field maintenance shutdown on its Gabon facilities — the first since its floating storage and offloading vessel came online in 2022. The turnaround temporarily affected production but was completed on budget and without safety or environmental incidents.
Vaalco reported a profit of $1.1 million for the third quarter, compared with $11 million in the same period of 2024. Revenue fell to $61 million from $140.3 million, mainly due to lower production and weaker oil prices. Output averaged 15,405 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 21,779 boepd a year earlier, while realised prices averaged $50.96 per boe versus $65.39 per boe.
Chief executive George Maxwell said production for the quarter exceeded the midpoint of company guidance despite the planned shutdown. He added that Vaalco had reduced its full-year capital guidance twice this year, by a total of $58 million, while raising production expectations driven by operational efficiency and strong well performance.
SourceL: Upstream
