A Saudi oil driller has found three more years of work for two of its older rigs in India. It is the company's third overseas contract in less than two weeks.
ADES Holding said in a filing on Sunday that India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has hired its Key Singapore and Admarine 10 jack-up rigs for three years each.
The contracts are worth nearly SR440 million ($117 million), including the cost of moving the rigs. That works out to about $53,500 a day per rig, by CapitalSA's calculation.
The rigs will start their new jobs by the end of March 2027, after their current campaigns end this year.
Why it matters
These are standard rigs, older and simpler than the premium units oil companies compete hardest for. Locking them into three-year contracts gives ADES steady income from a part of its fleet that usually earns lower rates.
India had also looked shaky. ONGC has cancelled several jack-up tenders since 2024, and rig owners including ADES were weighing whether to move rigs out of the country, Indian media reported.
The bigger picture
Jack-up rigs are scarce worldwide. More than 90% of the global fleet is under contract, ADES said in August, when all of its suspended Saudi offshore rigs were cleared to restart after the war halted work.
Even before that, abroad was where ADES grew. About 65% of its first-half revenue came from outside the kingdom.
ADES's recent run abroad
India, Sunday. Two rigs for ONGC, three years each, about $117 million.
Angola, late last month. A one-year extension for the Shelf Drilling Tenacious, worth about $52 million. Read our story.
Indonesia, late last month. A $46 million contract for the Shelf Drilling Perseverance with a new customer, Pertamina Hulu Mahakam. Read our story.
UK and Nigeria, July. About $129 million for the Shelf Drilling Fortress in the North Sea, and about $100 million for the Shelf Drilling Odyssey off Nigeria, according to its filings.
Brunei, last year. A $63 million deal with Brunei Shell Petroleum for the Compact Driller. It was the first win after ADES bought Shelf Drilling, and that rig was also working in India.
What to watch
The Saudi rigs are back at work, and the overseas book keeps filling. The next results will show whether both can lift earnings together.
ADES shares were up about 1% in morning trading on Sunday.
