ADNOC Drilling acquires two new rigs for $200 million

ADNOC Drilling announced on Wednesday that it signed an agreement to acquire an additional two premium high-specification Gusto MSC CJ46-X100-D design offshore jack-up drilling units. The rigs were acquired at a combined cost of $200 million.

The acquisition, a press statement said, is part of the company’s fleet expansion and growth strategy that is a key enabler of ADNOC’s accelerated oil production capacity target of 5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027. ADNOC Drilling has almost doubled its offshore jack-up rig fleet to 32 since early 2021, with further significant expansion expected in 2023 and beyond.

This rig purchase adds to earlier deals for a total of nine rigs signed in 2022 and four rigs acquired in 2021.

Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Seiari, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Drilling, commented: “The latest acquisition of these premium jack-up rigs will support our key customer, ADNOC, in its accelerated capacity target of 5 mmbopd by 2027 and is yet another important step in the execution of our strategy to rapidly grow our business, significantly boost revenues and increase shareholder returns. It also cements our position as one of the world’s largest jack-up rig fleet owners.

“Our objective is to be operating a total fleet of at least 122 owned rigs by 2024, and at our fleet’s current, accelerated rate of growth we will easily surpass that milestone. Our rig acquisitions will deliver exceptional revenue growth with strong profitability margins.”

Since listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in October 2021, ADNOC Drilling rapidly expanded its fleet from 95 to 108 owned rigs, as of September 30, 2022. With the addition of the latest two high-specification rigs, the firm is set to operate one of the largest offshore jack-up fleets in the world, with plans for further growth.

As the new rigs progressively enter the fleet, ADNOC Drilling said they expected a further boost to financial and operating performance to the benefit of its clients and shareholders.

ADNOC Drilling signed more than $13 billion worth of contracts since its IPO, the press release added. From the IPO in October 2021 to the end of the third quarter of 2022, the company said it has delivered a total shareholder Return of 53.7 per cent. In the first nine months of 2022, ADNOC Drilling delivered revenue of $1.94 billion, a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, with $568 million in net profit, increasing 24 per cent.