VAALCO Completes Gabon Phase 3 Drilling as ETSEM-3H Starts at About 2,000 BOPD

VAALCO Energy has completed its Phase 3 drilling program offshore Gabon after bringing the ETSEM-3H development well on production at a stabilized initial rate of about 2,000 gross barrels of oil per day, or roughly 1,140 BOPD net to the company. The Houston-based producer said ETSEM-3H was drilled in an attic position within the SE Etame field and encountered a 300-meter lateral section of net pay in high-quality Gamba reservoir sands. With the well online, VAALCO said the Borr Norve drilling rig has been demobilized from the field, ending the latest drilling campaign at its Gabon operations.

VAALCO disclosed the result in an operational update released Wednesday. The company also furnished the release to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 8-K dated October 7.

ETSEM-3H closes the Phase 3 program

ETSEM-3H was the final well in the Phase 3 campaign. VAALCO described the roughly 2,000 BOPD figure as a stabilized initial gross flow rate, an important distinction because the company’s economic share is lower. On a net basis, VAALCO said the well is producing about 1,140 BOPD.

The result adds another producing well to a program that began in late 2025 and moved across several parts of the Etame complex. Earlier in 2026, VAALCO brought the Etame 15H development well into production after drilling pilot holes in the Etame field. It then used the West Etame exploration wellbore, whose target interval proved water-bearing, to sidetrack and drill the Etame 14H development well in the Main Fault Block.

Etame 14H was placed on production in April after encountering 325 meters of net pay in Gamba sands. VAALCO reported an initial gross flow rate of about 4,850 BOPD, or about 2,850 BOPD net to the company. The drilling rig subsequently moved to the Ebouri platform, where the Ebouri-5H development well came online in June. That well initially flowed at more than 8,000 gross BOPD and about 4,700 BOPD net to VAALCO, according to the company’s June operational update.

The campaign then shifted to the SEENT platform. VAALCO drilled the ETBNM-3 gas-supply well into the Dentale D-15 reservoir and brought it online to supply natural gas for field operations. Management said the gas reduces reliance on higher-cost diesel that otherwise has to be transported offshore by vessel. The rig then moved to the slot used for the ETSEM-3 pilot and development work that produced the final Phase 3 well announced Wednesday.

The new well adds production, but the initial rate is only an early measure

For investors, ETSEM-3H adds near-term barrels without extending the Gabon campaign into another drilling phase immediately. It also marks the point at which the company can move the Borr Norve rig off the field rather than continuing to carry drilling activity at Etame.

The initial production number should not be read as a forecast of sustained output. VAALCO itself cautions in its forward-looking disclosures that early production data may not indicate long-term performance. Oil wells can decline from startup rates, and realized production can also be affected by reservoir behavior, water cut, operating constraints, maintenance and field-level production management.

Still, the sequence of 2026 wells shows why Gabon has remained a central part of VAALCO’s organic investment program. In the second quarter, the company reported $42.5 million of accrual-basis capital expenditures in its Gabon segment, out of $98.9 million of consolidated capital expenditures for the quarter. On a cash basis, companywide capital spending was $103.6 million, with the Gabon Phase 3 program among the major uses of capital alongside work in Côte d’Ivoire and Egypt.

Gabon also remained an important revenue contributor during the second quarter. VAALCO reported $103.3 million of gross oil sales from the segment in that period. Because the company sells Gabon crude through liftings, reported sales volumes do not necessarily line up with production volumes in the same quarter, making individual well startup rates more useful as operational indicators than as direct predictors of quarterly revenue.

Drilling attention now shifts toward Côte d’Ivoire

With the Gabon program complete, VAALCO’s next major offshore drilling work is centered on the Baobab field in Côte d’Ivoire. The company said Phase 5 drilling has begun with the batch-setting of top-hole sections. Its current plan calls for four producer wells, three water injectors and two workovers.

VAALCO expects the wells to be completed and brought on production sequentially after the top-hole work is finished. The first new producer is expected to come online near the end of 2026, with the company forecasting a more meaningful production increase from the program in 2027. Those timing statements are guidance rather than completed outcomes and remain subject to normal drilling and execution risks.

The Baobab campaign follows the restart of field production in June after a major refurbishment of the floating production, storage and offloading vessel serving the field. VAALCO had already identified the Côte d’Ivoire drilling program as one of the projects expected to drive production growth after the Gabon work wound down.

For Gabon, the immediate milestone is simpler: Phase 3 is finished, ETSEM-3H is producing, and the drilling rig has left the field. The next evidence on how much the campaign contributes to companywide production will come through VAALCO’s subsequent operating and financial updates, where the early well rates can be compared with sustained field output.