Adnoc Drilling awarded $3.8bn contract

The five-year agreement is for provision of drilling, workover and well services to Adnoc Onshore

An Adnoc drilling rig in action. The company has helped customers save more than $250m since 2018 through its services. Image courtesy of Adnoc

Adnoc Drilling, the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size, agreed a five-year $3.8 billion contract with Adnoc Onshore for the continued provision of drilling, workover and other well services, the company said on Thursday.

The drilling subsidiary of Adnoc said the newly awarded contract will drive efficiency in work crews, rig move time and maintenance scheduling.

“Adnoc Onshore is a valued and long-standing customer and this contract award further extends a 50-year profitable and unique partnership," Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Seiari, chief executive of Adnoc Drilling, said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where the company's shares trade.

"We will continue to drive value for Adnoc and the UAE, delivering on the 2030 strategic production capacity and gas self-sufficiency targets. Advanced technologies and digitalisation are at the heart of this agreement, as Adnoc Drilling continues to improve efficiencies, drive further growth opportunities, while minimising our environmental footprint.”

Adnoc Drilling raised more than $1.1 billion in September from its initial public offering. The company reported a 48 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit, backed by its onshore and oilfield services segments. Net profit climbed to $178 million, from $120m in the same period a year earlier.

Adnoc maintains its majority 84 per cent stake in Adnoc Drilling, while US energy services company Baker Hughes, which entered into a strategic partnership with Adnoc Drilling in October 2018, has a 5 per cent stake and US contract oil and gas driller Helmerich & Payne holds 1 per cent.

After its IPO, Adnoc Drilling was included in three of FTSE Russell’s global indices – the FTSE Emerging Index, the FTSE Global Large Cap Index and the FTSE All-World Index. Adnoc Drilling is the only provider of fully integrated drilling services in the region and has helped companies save more than $250m since 2018, according to the statement.

The company owns 96 rigs and is the sole provider of drilling rig hire services and certain associated rig-related services to Adnoc.

Adnoc is investing $6 billion in drilling growth as it boosts its crude oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030.

Adnoc Drilling - in pictures