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ADNOC Drilling is chasing greater glory - and a presence on three key FTSE indices is what the company is after. Image Credit: Supplied
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Dubai: Fresh from a record IPO, Abu Dhabi owned ADNOC Drilling Company is aiming for inclusion in three global market indices: the FTSE Emerging Index, FTSE Global Large Cap Index and FTSE All-World Index. This follows the ADNOC Group entity stock market float on Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) - and the largest-ever ADX listing to date.

These targets were set at the first ADNOC Drilling board meeting, which was chaired by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, as well as ADNOC Drilling Chairman. The board approved ADNOC Drilling’s five-year business growth plan from 2022 as well as the 2022 budget.

“The inclusion of ADNOC Drilling into three world-renowned FTSE Indices marks another strong endorsement from the global financial markets in both the company and Abu Dhabi’s thriving equity capital market," said Dr. Al Jaber. "It further increases the attractiveness of ADNOC Drilling’s shares to the international investor community, with the potential to add to the diversification of its overall investor base."

Near term plans
ADNOC Drilling will be active in a "number of mega-tenders" in Abu Dhabi, while pursuing further expansion and market share in the oil field services (OFS) segment. If awarded, these tenders will expand the company’s portfolio outside of the Integrated Drilling Services (IDS) segment, with awards expected during 2022.

ADNOC Drilling has already been included in three major FTSE Russell Indices (FTSE Indices), which are used by investors to benchmark investment performance and portfolio compositions. ADNOC Drilling was included in these key global indices by FTSE after meeting all necessary requirements, less than two weeks after the ADX listing.

These approvals "reinforce ADNOC Drilling’s integral position as the sole provider of drilling rig hire and rig-related services to ADNOC Group". The company will have a key role role in enabling ADNOC to deliver on its 2030 crude oil production capacity target of 5 million barrels per day and achieving gas self-sufficiency for the UAE.

ADNOC completed the IPO of 11 per cent of issued share capital in ADNOC Drilling on the ADX on October 3. The $1.1 billion offering brought in qualified international institutional and UAE retail investors, and was oversubscribed in excess of 31 times on aggregate.

The ADNOC Drilling shares gained 30 per cent on listing day and have traded consistently at that level since, closing at Dh2.97 on Thursday (October 14). This is up 29.1 per cent from the IPO offer price.