Borr pulls the plug on two Mexican rig jobs as sanctions shake offshore drilling sphere

October 27, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

As global and geopolitical sanctions continue to gain momentum, Borr Drilling, an offshore drilling player with its corporate base in Bermuda, has dropped two long-term rig assignments off the coast of Mexico.

With sanctions rippling through the energy sector, Borr Drilling is the second player to halt offshore drilling operations in less than a week in the aftermath of such moves in the international playbook, following Vantage Drilling’s decision to do the same for one of its drillships.

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Borr Drilling has confirmed the termination of two of its drilling contracts for the Odin and Hild jack-up rigs in Mexico following the recent implementation of international sanctions, said to be affecting a counterparty. These mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) had firm commitments until November 2025 and March 2026, respectively.

The company did not specify the exact sanctions that led to these contract terminations. However, it is widely believed that the new raft of sanctions against the Russian energy realm and companies with ties to it, primarily led by the U.S. and the European Union (EU), is the reason behind at least one of these rig cancellations.

“The company remains fully committed to adhering to all relevant international laws and sanctions frameworks and to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and compliance,” emphasized Borr Drilling while explaining its reasoning behind these rig contract cancellations.

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Based on Borr Drilling’s fleet status report from August 2025, the 2013-built Odin jack-up secured a letter of intent for drilling activities from September 2025 to November 2025 with an undisclosed company in Mexico.

This came after the rig owner reported a few months ago that the Odin rig got a 30-day temporary suspension notice from Pemex in Mexico, effective early June. As a result, Borr Drilling opted to look into alternative deployment options, which led to a 60-day letter of intent with an unnamed independent oil company in Mexico.

The assignment came with priced options that could have kept the rig contracted through Q2 2026. In the wake of the LoI award, Borr Drilling had four of its seven rigs in Mexico committed to independent customers.

The 12-year-old Odin jack-up rig is of KFELS Super B Bigfoot Class design and can accommodate 150 people. Constructed at Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore, the rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 350 feet, and its maximum drilling depth is 35,000 feet.

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On the other hand, the 2020-built Hild was with Fieldwood Energy since October 2023, after arriving in Mexico in April that same year. The rig owner’s latest fleet status report shows the rig was booked for work until March 2026, but the oil and gas firm had the option to extend the assignment further.

It is worth noting that Russia’s Lukoil has a hold on Fieldwood Energy’s Mexican upstream business, making it the Russian giant’s subsidiary. The five-year-old Hild jack-up rig is of Keppel FELS Super B Class design and can accommodate 150 people. Capable of operating in water depths of up to 400 feet, the rig’s maximum drilling depth is 35,000 feet.

These rig contract terminations come after one of Borr Drilling’s jack-ups began drilling activities in Block 16-1 offshore Vietnam, where another MODU from its fleet is slated to work from mid-November 2025.