Nestoil deploys indigenous rig on Nigeria’s OML 42

Nestoil Group deployed its wholly Nigerian-crewed drilling rig, the Pathfinder 500, to complete workover operations on two producing wells in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 in the Niger Delta. The rig, operated through Nestoil’s drilling unit Scorpio Drilling International, finished the campaign without a health, safety or environment incident before being demobilized to base.

Group Chairman Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi said the deployment marked the Pathfinder 500’s first productive assignment since Nestoil acquired the rig about eight years ago, alongside a second unit, the Scorpio 300. He said the investment was intended to reduce reliance on hired rigs and to build indigenous capacity to undertake workovers, revive older wells and eventually drill new wells as OML 42 matures.

Nestoil, through its Neconde Energy affiliate, holds interests in OML 42, a legacy Shell-operated asset. The company said Scorpio Drilling International will continue providing drilling services to Nestoil and to third-party operators across Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.