Borr Drilling shares fall after rig sinks offshore Gabon

Oct 26 (Reuters) - Oslo-listed shares of Borr Drilling fell on Monday after its Prospector 5 rig sank off Gabon, killing one worker and leaving four missing, according to three sources who spoke to Reuters on Sunday.

The sinking has taken a rig booked for nearly a year out of service and threatens to delay new oil production that BW Energy had targeted for early next year.

• The shares were down 7% at 0830 GMT, paring losses after falling as much as 11.4% to an over two-month low

• The Gabonese government has not confirmed the death, instead saying five people remain missing with searches ongoing

• Borr said on Monday that 110 of 115 people aboard were safe and five remained unaccounted for

• It said preliminary information indicated a "punch-through" during drilling preparations, an incident where one or more rig legs suddenly sink much deeper into the seabed than intended

• Shares in BW Energy and Panoro Energy, partners in the Dussafu license where the rig was to drill, fell 7% and 10% in early Oslo trading

• Gabon's oil ministry has ordered a technical investigation into the sinking. In March 2024, a fire at a separate Perenco oil platform offshore Gabon killed five people

(Reporting by Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)