ADNOC Drilling awarded to $1 bn contract to unlock offshore

The contract, awarded by ADNOC Offshore, will support the expansion of ADNOC’s production capacity as it responds to the growing global demand for lower carbon-intensity oil and gas.

ADNOC Drilling is the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size. This award will leverage the company’s world-class expertise and state-of-the-art rig fleet to further unlock the UAE’s offshore energy resources. Over 80% of the award value will flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme, supporting local economic growth and diversification.

Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC Upstream Executive Director, said, “This award for the hire of jack-up rigs supports our ongoing efforts to responsibly unlock our lower carbon intensity oil and gas resources alongside our strategic international partners, and contribute to global energy security. ADNOC Drilling’s world-class capabilities remain a key enabler of these efforts. Importantly, this award will also deliver significant in-country value to drive economic growth and diversification, in line with the UAE leadership’s wise directives.”

This award brings the total value of awards from ADNOC Offshore to ADNOC Drilling in 2022 to $5.95 billion (AED21.84 billion) to maximise value from Abu Dhabi’s offshore oil and gas resources. In October, ADNOC Drilling was awarded a contract worth $1.52 billion (AED5.58 billion) to provide jack-up and island rigs and associated Integrated Drilling Services. This followed two awards in August worth $3.43 billion (AED12.59 billion) to hire eight jack-up rigs.

Abdulrahman Abdulla AlSeiari, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Drilling, said, "Contracts like this help us ensure that we continue to achieve strong and sustainable growth, create value for our shareholders, and support our ambitious rig fleet expansion programme, whose capital expenditures are an important part of our commitments, making it possible for us to execute such contracts.

"Our position as a key enabler in achieving ADNOC's ambitious goals to increase its production capacity also gives investors a solid opportunity to achieve sustainable and expected profit growth, in addition to the availability of market-leading cash flows and profit margins that contribute to enabling the gradual dividend policy."

ADNOC Offshore is supporting ADNOC’s drive to expand production capacity to five million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2030 and enable gas self-sufficiency for the UAE, and ADNOC Drilling is critical to delivering on these strategic objectives.

ADNOC Drilling’s rig fleet spans 105 owned rigs, including 28 offshore jack-up units, one of the largest operational jack-up fleets in the world. The company’s expansive rig fleet and expertise are key drivers in its ability to win and service large-scale drilling contracts for customers such as ADNOC Offshore.