Panoro Energy ASA, an operator on the Marin Permit offshore Gabon, along with its partners, has disclosed, with profound sadness, the sinking of the jack-up drilling rig Prospector 5, owned and operated by Borr Drilling. occurred on the field at 20:37 local time on Saturday, 24 October 2026,
According to the company’s media releases, the ugly incident occurred during jacking operations in preparation for a planned drilling campaign; the rig apparently experienced a loss of stability and subsequently sank.
At the time of the accident report, 115 people were onboard the Prospector 5. A total of 110 have been safely accounted for, while five tragically remain missing. An Indian national, one of the five initially declared missing, was later confirmed dead. The remaining four still missing are three Gabonese nationals and one other expatriate.
At the moment, the partners and the Gabonese Government’s immediate concern and overriding priority is the safety and wellbeing of all personnel affected by this incident, ensuring that all workers rescued are in perfect good condition and the other missing personnel are eventually rescued alive.
The rig owner’s emergency response team has been activated and supported closely by BW Energy the operator of Dussafu, and is undertaking extensive search and rescue operations in close coordination with relevant authorities and emergency responders.
The Company’s thoughts and prayers are with the five people who remain missing and with their families, friends and colleagues at this deeply distressing time. Panoro stands alongside the rig owner, the operator and the emergency responders in their efforts, and expresses its sincere gratitude and full solidarity with all those involved in the search and rescue operations.
Production at the MaBoMo facility is shut down in accordance with standard procedure during ongoing drilling preparations. There has been no reported damage to the facility or related equipment, nor any accidental discharge of harmful substances to the sea from the facility.
Panoro holds a 17.5 per cent non-operated participating interest in Dussafu.
