Nestoil Group has deployed its Pathfinder 500 drilling rig to carry out workover operations on two producing wells in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, marking a significant step in efforts to increase oil production in the Niger Delta.

The company said the operations, executed through its drilling subsidiary, Scorpio Drilling International, were completed without any health, safety and environment (HSE) incidents and contributed to incremental oil production from the asset.

The Pathfinder 500 is one of two rigs acquired by the Group under a combined investment of about $28 million, alongside the Scorpio 300. The company said the rig was successfully mobilised to the OML 42 site, completed the workover campaign and was safely demobilised after the assignment.

The operation represents the Pathfinder 500’s first productive deployment since it was acquired about eight years ago, following concerns that the rig might never become operational.

Nestoil said the milestone validates its long-term strategy of building indigenous drilling capacity to support the redevelopment of OML 42, a former Shell-operated asset, while creating opportunities for future in-field drilling.

Chairman of Nestoil/Neconde Group, Dr Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi, described the deployment as a defining moment for both the company and Nigeria’s indigenous drilling industry.

According to him, the decision to invest in the Pathfinder 500 and Scorpio 300 was driven by the high cost and operational challenges associated with relying on hired rigs.

“As an asset owner in OML 42, we needed dependable in-house capacity to carry out workovers, revive older wells and ultimately drill new wells as the field matures,” he said.

Obiejesi noted that the successful completion of the workover campaign positions the company to proceed with its planned in-field drilling programme.

He also said the project, from refurbishing the rig to staffing operations, was delivered entirely by Nigerian personnel without foreign partnership, with the operating crew being 100 per cent Nigerian.

He attributed the achievement to decades of local capacity development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, adding that the country now exports skilled drilling professionals to other oil-producing nations.

Obiejesi said the development extends beyond Nestoil, noting that Scorpio Drilling International’s two operational rigs strengthen indigenous participation in Nigeria’s drilling sector and contribute to the country’s broader ambition of increasing domestic oil production and expanding local content across the industry.