Maersk Drilling eyes African prizes

An uptick in west African activity holds promise for hard-pressed drillers

West Africa is one of the world's few hotspots for offshore drillers and could yet be poised to throw up more opportunities, as oil companies firm up their E&P plans in the region's new and expanding oil provinces. That is welcome news for Angela Durkin, chief operating officer at Maersk Drilling, whose business is still shaking off the effects of the collapse in activity during the post-2014 industry downturn-while preparing to be spun off from its parent A P Moller Maersk in 2019. "Our main focus in Africa right now is Ghana, where we have three of our drillships positioned. It's a very active market for us right now," Durkin told Petroleum Economist at November's Africa Oil Week confe