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Borr Drilling
Tor Olav Trøim's Borr Drilling operates the world's largest pure-play jack-up rig fleet, built through a $1.35B Transocean deal in 2017.
Borr Drilling
Tor Olav Trøim, the former CEO of Seadrill and a key John Fredriksen lieutenant, established Borr Drilling in 2016 with backing from Schlumberger and other shipping financiers. The company's name echoes a Norse myth about a well containing all wisdom — a nod to Trøim's Norwegian heritage and his reputation for structuring complex maritime financial transactions. Borr was purpose-built to acquire modern, high-specification jack-up rigs from distressed sellers during the offshore drilling downturn, quickly assembling one of the industry's youngest fleets. Borr operates exclusively in the shallow-water jack-up segment, targeting water depths up to 400 feet across the Middle East, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the North Sea. Its fleet of approximately 22 rigs — predominantly modern designs built after 2000 — serves national oil companies and major independents on day-rate contracts. The company's strategy avoids deepwater or drillship exposure entirely, concentrating technical and commercial resources on a single rig class where supply had contracted severely after the 2014 oil-price collapse. Key customer regions include the Arabian Gulf, where Saudi Aramco and ADNOC represent dominant demand sources, and the North Sea, where seasonal work programs require high-specification equipment. Schlumberger provided $200 million in initial equity capital and later reduced its stake through a series of public-market sales, including a $95.7 million block trade in August 2023 (per Bloomberg, August 2023). Borr has no material adjacent vehicles, philanthropic arms, or separate investment platforms — it functions strictly as an operating company with a listed equity structure on the New York Stock Exchange and Oslo Børs. In September 2024, the company completed a refinancing that extended debt maturities to 2028, reflecting a recovery in day rates and utilization following the post-pandemic demand trough. Borr's structural differentiator is its pure-play concentration on a single, out-of-favor offshore asset class, executed by a management team with deep maritime capital-markets experience. Unlike diversified offshore drillers or energy-services conglomerates, the firm carries no legacy deepwater rigs, no converted tankers, and no onshore operations — creating a binary, non-consensus exposure that appeals to specialist energy investors but demands continuous fleet renewal and disciplined leverage management.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2016
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Bermuda
City
Hamilton
Corporate office
Hamilton, Bermuda
Additional offices
Stavanger, Norway · Dubai, UAE
Principals
Tor Olav Trøim
Chairman
Patrick Schorn
Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Borr Drilling and what was the original thesis?
Tor Olav Trøim, former CEO of Seadrill and a long-time associate of shipping magnate John Fredriksen, founded Borr in 2016 with Schlumberger as a key initial backer. The investment thesis was to acquire modern, high-specification jack-up rigs at distressed prices during the offshore drilling downturn that followed the 2014 oil-price collapse. The foundational transaction was a $1.35 billion acquisition of 15 rigs from Transocean announced in 2017.
What type of drilling assets does Borr operate and where?
Borr operates a fleet of approximately 22 modern jack-up rigs designed for shallow-water drilling, typically up to 400 feet. The rigs are predominantly built after 2000 and deployed across the Middle East, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the North Sea on day-rate contracts for national oil companies and major independents. The company explicitly avoids deepwater drillships and semi-submersibles.
How is Borr Drilling different from other offshore drillers?
Borr is the purest large-cap jack-up play globally, with no legacy deepwater fleet, no drillships, and no onshore services division. This creates a concentrated, non-diversified exposure to the shallow-water recovery cycle that attracts specialist energy investors. The management team's deep shipping-finance background also distinguishes the firm from rig operators without comparable capital-markets experience.
What is Schlumberger's relationship with Borr Drilling?
Schlumberger was a foundational investor, providing approximately $200 million in initial equity when Borr was established in 2016. The oilfield services giant has since reduced its stake through public-market sales, including a $95.7 million block trade in August 2023. The relationship reflects Schlumberger's historical strategy of backing new rig operators to stimulate demand for its services.
Does Borr Drilling pay a dividend?
Borr suspended dividend payments during the 2020 market downturn to preserve liquidity and has prioritized debt reduction over shareholder distributions in the recovery. The company's capital-allocation policy remains focused on fleet maintenance, debt repayment, and potential opportunistic rig acquisitions rather than returning cash to shareholders as of early 2025.
What is Borr Drilling's listing and regulatory structure?
Borr Drilling is incorporated in Bermuda with its principal executive offices in Hamilton. The company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker 'BORR' and on the Oslo Børs. This dual listing reflects the firm's mixed North American and European shareholder base and its Norwegian management heritage.
What is the core risk in investing in Borr Drilling?
Concentration risk is the dominant factor — the company is a pure-play bet on the jack-up segment, which relies entirely on shallow-water E&P spending. Cyclical day-rate volatility, fleet age management, and refinancing risk in an industry with high fixed costs compound the single-asset-class exposure. A prolonged oil-price decline or a shift toward deepwater and subsea tiebacks could erode utilization and pricing rapidly.
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