African multi-well offshore drilling campaign on BW Energy’s agenda in July

February 5, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Oslo-listed oil and gas E&P player BW Energy has made further progress in preparations for its planned drilling program off the coast of Gabon. The firm is also moving forward with its projects in Brazil and Namibia.

The company claims that preparations have advanced for the MaBoMo phase 2 in the Dussafu licence offshore Gabon toward the planned drilling start in July 2026. This drilling program comprises four production wells, with two additional appraisal wells under consideration.

The FPSO BW Adolo is deployed on the Dussafu Marin license offshore Gabon, where it has been working since first oil in 2018. The oil produced at the Hibiscus/Ruche project is processed on the unit alongside the established Tortue production before being offloaded to oil tankers.

A 20-kilometer pipeline connection between the BW MaBoMo production facility installed at the Hibiscus field and the FPSO BW Adolo moored at the producing Tortue field was commissioned to receive oil from the Hibiscus/Ruche wells.

The net production from the Dussafu licence averaged 22.4 kbopd, a decrease compared to the year-ago period due to natural decline and downtime of an ESP occurring late in the quarter.

In addition, BW Energy has confirmed progress of the Bourdon discovery toward a final investment decision (FID), based on three initial wells and a development concept aligned with the MaBoMo development.

Carl K. Arnet, CEO of BW Energy, commented: “In Gabon, we are set to start drilling on MaBoMo phase 2 in the third quarter with first oil expected later in 2026, and the Bourdon development is moving towards sanction, further supporting delivery of industry-leading production growth to around 90,000 barrels per day in 2028.”

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Meanwhile, the Maromba development and the Golfinho Boost project in Brazil also progressed to plan, with the remaining production platform financing milestone completed. A final investment decision for the Maromba field was reached in May 2025, targeting 500 million barrels of oil in place.

This project is designed to entail an integrated drilling and wellhead platform (WHP) and a refurbished FPSO Maromba, formerly known as Polvo. The jack-up rig, which will be converted to a combined wellhead and drilling platform, recently arrived at the yard in Dubai, commencing the planned conversion work.

Based on a previously disclosed schedule, the first oil from the Brazilian project is scheduled for the end of 2027. BW Energy anticipates a plateau production of 60,000 barrels of oil per day from the field in the Campos Basin off the coast of Brazil.

Arnet explained: ”During the fourth quarter, we completed the Maromba financing with a long-term lease for the development rig acquisition and refurbishment which ensures a highly efficient liquidity structure.

“Combined with strong underlying cash generation, we are well positioned to deliver continued growth and long term value for our shareholders.”

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The net production from the Golfinho field averaged 2.7 kbopd, or approximately 0.3 mmbbls for the quarter, down from 0.6 mmbbls in year-earlier period due to longer-than-expected maintenance period, which was completed last year.

The Kharas-1A appraisal well in Namibia was completed in November 2025, confirming a working petroleum system with condensate and/or light oil. BW Energy underlines that further analysis is ongoing to determine the extent of the system and to characterise reservoir properties and appraisal options.