Expert calls for accountability after Gabon rig sinking
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Agpgabon
Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5 rig sank at the Dussafu concession off Mayumba while preparing a campaign for BW Energy. An anonymous oil expert cited several possible technical failures and called on the Gabonese government to demand accountability from the operator and its contractor, according to the Gabonese Press Agency.
An expert has called for responsibility to be established after Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5 jack-up drilling rig sank on Saturday 24 October at the Dussafu oil concession, off Mayumba in south-western Gabon. The platform was preparing for a new drilling campaign for BW Energy, the Gabonese Press Agency (AGP) reports, citing an expert who requested anonymity.
According to the expert, such an accident can result from a dynamic or asymmetrical overload while the platform is being raised or lowered, a failure of the jacking system’s synchronisation system or a sudden loss of hydraulic pressure. The expert also referred to “punch-through”, when a leg suddenly sinks into soft sediments after a layer of firm soil breaks, as well as the effects of swell and fatigue cracks in critical welds, according to the AGP.
The expert believes the Gabonese government must demand accountability from the operator and its contractor. The sinking had already been reported by the AGP as having left five people missing.
