Odfjell Drilling says the Deepsea Mira rig has achieved a world-first in Walvis Bay by completing the on-rig assembly, testing and commissioning of the Cameron 15K TL 6 RAM cavity blowout preventer (BOP).
The equipment, designed to control pressure and prevent well blowouts, has since been deployed on the Volans-1X exploration well, where the rig is drilling at a depth of 1,218 metres.
The milestone comes as the rig resumed operations offshore Namibia with Rhino Resources Ltd under a new N$740 million (US$40 million) contract secured by its owner, Northern Ocean Ltd (NOL).
The deal covers one firm well for Rhino, another for a separate operator, and three optional wells. The firm portion is expected to last 112 days.
Rhino is drilling the Volans-1X well on Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 85 in partnership with NAMCOR, Korres Investments and Azule Energy, marking the consortium’s third consecutive well on the block.
Halliburton and Exceed are among the service providers supporting the campaign.
The Deepsea Mira, a sixth-generation semi-submersible rig, transitions directly into this contract after concluding a programme with TotalEnergies. The project underscores growing momentum in Namibia’s offshore oil and gas industry, which has attracted global attention following major discoveries by TotalEnergies and Shell since 2022.
