Four Borr Drilling rigs’ ops in Middle East on ‘standby’

March 9, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Given the current situation in the Middle East, Borr Drilling, an offshore drilling player with its corporate base in Bermuda, has shed light on the operational status of its rig fleet deployed in the region, highlighting that these jack-ups will be ready to resume activities once circumstances improve to ensure the safety of its employees and assets.

Arabia III (former Frigg) jack-up rig; Source: Ocean Oilfield

Borr Drilling has four jack-up rigs deployed in the Middle East, including one in Saudi Arabia, one in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and two in Qatar. Three of these rigs, deployed in Qatar and the UAE, have been down manned as of last week, following recent hostilities in the Arabian Gulf.

The company explained that the Arabia III rig was impacted by an incident that occurred on a customer-operated platform on March 7, 2026. As a result, the rig was subsequently safely shut down, and all personnel were successfully evacuated.

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Bruno Morand, Borr Drilling’s CEO, commented: “First and foremost, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our personnel is our highest priority. All employees in the region
are safe and accounted for, and operations across the region will remain on standby until conditions allow for a safe resumption of activity.”

While emphasizing that all Borr Drilling’s employees and crew in the region are accounted for and safe, the rig owner claims that it continues to closely monitor developments and remains in active communication with its customers and relevant stakeholders in the region.

The firm underlines that the four rigs remain under contract and are insured; thus, it will provide additional updates in the event of any material developments in the current situation.

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