Demand for shallow-water rigs is rising in Mexico, according to the country’s largest offshore drilling operator, as state oil company Pemex pushes to meet its production goals.
Borr Drilling CEO Bruno Morand told a first-quarter earnings call on Thursday that Mexico will need more jack-up rigs to reach its target of 1.8 million barrels per day by 2030, up from current output of around 1.6Mb/d.
“Mexico continues to hold consequential shallow water production capacity,” Morand said. “We see jack-up utilisation as a fundamental variable in the formula for Pemex to reach its production target.”
He added that stacked rigs returning to work, alongside a fresh market inquiry from Pemex, leaves rigs currently in the country well placed to benefit from growing demand.
Beyond Pemex, Borr has also extended a rig contract with Italian major ENI in Mexico.
Fleet expansion
Borr, founded in Norway, headquartered in Bermuda and listed on both the New York and Oslo stock exchanges, has grown its fleet significantly in 2026. In January it completed the acquisition of five shallow-water rigs from Noble Corporation for US$360 million, and in March it agreed to buy five further rigs from Paratus for US$287 million. The two deals will take its total fleet from 24 to 34 rigs.
With the Middle East conflict pushing oil prices higher and sharpening energy security concerns globally, Borr expects rig activity and day rates to climb by the end of 2026.
“We expect the disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East to be both substantial and long lasting,” Morand said.
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