Short lease turns into long-term gig for rig set to become drilling and wellhead platform

December 15, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Oslo-listed oil and gas E&P player BW Energy has secured a project lease agreement with Minsheng Financial Leasing Co (MSFL) for an offshore unit, which is expected to be repurposed from a jack-up rig into a fully integrated drilling and production platform.

The short-term lease for the BW Maromba B Super Gorilla class jack-up rig, signed in September 2025, has been converted into a long-term project lease agreement with MSFL, which covers the rig purchase and all costs required to bring the wellhead platform to drilling and production readiness.

This is said to represent $274 million of the previously communicated Maromba CAPEX and provides an efficient lease financing structure for the project’s development phase, followed by a ten-year lease term, which will begin upon first oil for the Maromba development, with no payments due before this point.

The lease carries a fixed daily rate of $120,500, providing cost predictability throughout the lease period. The rig is currently en route from Singapore to Dubai, with expected arrival before year-end at the yard in the UAE, where it will be refurbished and converted into a fully integrated drilling and production platform.

The unit’s recent drilling service in Australia is interpreted to support an efficient upgrade and refurbishment program. When completed, it will mobilize to Brazil and start drilling and completion work according to the phased development plan for the Maromba field.

Thomas Young, CFO of BW Energy, commented: “We are pleased to establish an attractive lease financing for the full scope of the Maromba wellhead platform investment, building on our strong relationship with MSFL.

“This agreement further highlights our ability to consistently leverage repurposed production infrastructure to enable cost-efficient greenfield developments.”

A final investment decision (FID) for the Maromba field development 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.

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 this field in the Campos Basin off the coast of Brazil.

The deal comes shortly after the company, together with Maurel & Prom, inked an agreement to buy a combined 20% non-operated interest in Block 14 and 10% in Block 14K offshore Angola from Azule Energy.