Africa News

Borr Drilling has confirmed the recovery of a fourth body following the sinking of its Prospector 5 jack-up rig offshore Gabon, with search operations continuing for one person still missing.The company said on November 2 that the body of a fourth individual had been located during ongoing search and rescue operations, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities to four.All four bodies have been recovered and are being transported to Port Gentil, Gabon.The Prospector 5 sank offshore…

DeepOcean has secured a contract from Tullow Ghana to carry out subsea gas lift riser retermination work at the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, using its recently upgraded Orient Adventurer subsea construction vessel.The project involves a gas lift riser connecting the Kwame Nkrumah floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to the Jubilee subsea production system, with offshore operations scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.DeepOcean's scope includes project management…

Three bodies have been located inside the wreck of Borr Drilling's Prospector 5 jack-up rig, which sank offshore Gabon on October 24, with search and rescue operations continuing for two people still missing.The bodies were discovered during underwater inspections using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Vice-Admiral Charles Hubert Bekale-Meyong, chief of staff of the Gabonese Navy and commander of the search-and-rescue operation, confirmed in an October 28 statement.The images obtained did not allow the bodies to be identified…

Borr Drilling's Prospector 5 jack-up rig has sunk offshore Gabon after experiencing a punch-through event during preload operations that caused it to lose stability, leaving five people missing and 110 safely accounted for among the 115 personnel on board.In its latest update on October 26, Borr Drilling said extensive marine and air search and rescue operations were continuing for the five missing individuals, while the 110 personnel accounted for were being brought ashore in Gabon…

Saipem and Egypt's Modern Drilling Company (MDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore offshore drilling opportunities in Egypt, with the potential to extend their cooperation to other countries.The non-exclusive agreement covers the identification and development of new offshore drilling business opportunities, with the companies considering different forms of cooperation depending on individual projects.Potential arrangements include joint ventures, consortia…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a subsea installation contract in Africa, with its Skandi Acergy construction support vessel (CSV) scheduled to undertake the offshore campaign in early 2027.The contract, valued at between $15 million and $25 million, covers project management, engineering, logistics and offshore execution services for the transportation and installation of subsea production systems (SPS) at deepwater field developments.The offshore campaign…

Marsa Maroc has selected a Liebherr LPS 550 portal slewing crane for bulk cargo operations at the Port of Casablanca, marking the first deployment of Liebherr's LPS crane series in Africa.The rail-mounted crane, which is set to enter service at the Moroccan port, features an electric drive and a 48-metre boom. Its portal design allows cargo operations while preserving space along the quay.The order expands Marsa Maroc's fleet of Liebherr equipment following the delivery of three…

Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.Puntland's authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May.The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade.The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed…

Mermaid Maritime has established a joint venture with Nigerian oilfield services company Marine Platforms Limited to pursue subsea work for TotalEnergies Nigeria and other oil and gas operators in the country.The new company, Mermaid Subsea Services Limited, will be 49% owned by Mermaid Subsea Oil and Gas Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mermaid Maritime, while Marine Platforms will hold 51%.The venture is intended to allow direct operational engagement with TotalEnergies Nigeria and other oil and gas companies while meeting Nigerian local content…

Shipping group Maersk said on Monday that four more of its joint container services with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd will resume sailings through the Suez Canal, as they gradually return to using the shortcut between Asia and Europe.The Asia-Europe trade corridor through the Suez Canal was abandoned by most shippers earlier this decade after attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis, forcing ships to take the much longer trip around Africa."The Suez Canal is a vital maritime corridor between East and West and a key driver of efficient global supply chains," Denmark's Maersk said in a statement."By t

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have seized control of the historic port city of Mocha, four government military sources said, ina strategic shift that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes.Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent days, with the militant group shifting its focus to control over Yemen's long coastline instead of just the north, putting them in a stronger position to disrupt maritime trade.The group has launched attacks on the strategic Red Sea islands of Hanish…

Argentine President Javier Milei said on Thursday he would tighten sanctions on companies involved in oil projects around the Falkland Islands, boost defense resources in the country's south and send Congress a bill aimed at strengthening Argentina's response to what he called violations of its sovereignty.In a televised address, Milei said he would sign a decree to speed sanctions under Argentine law against companies participating in oil and gas extraction in territory Argentina…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Wednesday they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the kingdom's Red Sea port city of Yanbu.Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Houthis' military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, did not say when the attack took place.(Reuters - Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Dozens of people were feared dead after a ferry carrying 133 people capsized off the coast of Guyana late on Saturday, with authorities suggesting an inaccurate passenger list and drug use by the crew might have contributed to the situation.No survivors have been found since Sunday afternoon, when Guyanese authorities announced they had rescued 67 people, including 15 children.The captain and other crew members are now in police custody, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said at a press conference late on Sunday."Search and rescue is still in progress," Edghill said.

Oil prices gained more than 3% on Wednesday after Iran and the U.S. military traded airstrikes and Washington reimposed crude sales sanctions on Tehran, raising fears their fragile truce was unravelling and Middle East supplies could be disrupted again.Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained $2.40, or 3.2%, at $76.56 a barrel at 0645 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 climbed $2.26, or 3.2%, to $72.70 a barrel.Both benchmarks rose about 3% on Tuesday after the U.S. revoked…

Danish marine equipment supplier Svanehoj has secured its first contract to supply LNG tank gauging systems for the conversion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier into a floating storage unit (FSU).The company will deliver four LNG density and temperature (LTD) gauging systems to Drydocks World Dubai for the conversion of the LNG carrier LNG Bayelsa into the FSU Cap Lopez.The conversion is being carried out for Dixstone Lower Gulf FZCO as part of a floating LNG development aimed at expanding Gabon's offshore gas infrastructure.

Faced with declining production post-2030, across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Majors have started the process of reloading exploration hoppers. Targeting predominantly deep and ultra-deep waters, they have signed numerous agreements aimed at unlocking acreage and discovering the next Namibia or Guyana. But while there have been agreements for acreage that were offered as part of traditional licensing rounds – such as the award to TotalEnergies of PPLs 2000 and 2001 in Nigeria in September 2025 – there has been an increasing trend to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)…

SeaBird Exploration, a wholly owned subsidiary of SED Energy Holdings, has secured a contract for ocean bottom node (OBN) source work in West Africa.The company said the Fulmar Explorer vessel will be deployed for the campaign, which has a total duration of about three months, including mobilization and demobilization.Mobilization is expected to begin after the vessel completes its five-year classing, which is currently scheduled for August 2026."We are pleased to secure additional work for Fulmar Explorer, further strengthening our backlog.

Japanese offshore services company MODEC has secured a contract to supply a SOFEC internal turret mooring system for the Coral Norte floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project offshore Mozambique, being developed by Eni and its partners.MODEC is collaborating with the Technip Energies-JGC joint venture on the project to support integration and execution of the mooring system.The Coral Norte project is being developed by Eni together with CNPC, ENH, XRG and KOGAS.The project…

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.The U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. lifting its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output…

Offshore services provider Bourbon has secured a multi-month subsea services contract for operations on the Jubilee field offshore Ghana, deploying the multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) Bourbon Evolution 802 for a campaign covering inspection, maintenance and repair activities.The contract includes the use of the Bourbon Evolution 802, equipped with two work-class heavy-duty remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), to perform inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services on subsea wellheads…

Siemens Energy on Thursday warned of possible wind turbine capacity cuts in Europe if governments fall behind in efforts to expand offshore power, saying a lack of determination could become an "existential threat" to the industry.The comments by one of Europe's biggest industrial firms reflect growing concerns about the future of the continent's manufacturing capabilities, which have come under intense pressure from high energy costs and Asian competitors.Europe is currently facing delays in its offshore expansion, hampered by regulatory challenges that have caused some developers to rethink

QatarEnergy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian government and ExxonMobil to study the potential development and commercialization of gas discoveries in Cyprus through Egypt’s existing gas and LNG export infrastructure.The agreement will allow the parties to study future growth opportunities and commercial frameworks linked to Egypt’s gas infrastructure and its role as a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.The companies said the cooperation…