A Saudi-listed oil driller is leaning harder on foreign oilfields, as the regional war slows offshore work at home.
ADES Holding said a major international oil company has extended its contract for the Shelf Drilling Tenacious rig in Angola by a year, adding about SR195 million ($52 million) of work, according to a filing on Wednesday. The extension starts in the first quarter of 2027.
#WhyNow
Home is getting harder. The Hormuz conflict forced ADES to suspend some offshore rigs in Saudi waters, mostly in the second quarter. Its Saudi revenue fell 11.7% in the first half.
Abroad, the work keeps coming. About 65% of first-half revenue came from outside the kingdom, helping total revenue rise 49% to SR4.5 billion.
#TwoDealsTwoDays
Indonesia, Tuesday. The Shelf Drilling Perseverance rig won a SR173 million ($46 million) contract with Pertamina Hulu Mahakam, a new customer. Work starts in late December. Read our story.
Angola, Wednesday. An existing customer took up its option to keep the Tenacious for another year.
#TheBigPicture
Buying Shelf Drilling turned ADES into a global player. It added operations in Norway, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands, and more rigs in India, West Africa and Southeast Asia.
Fleet. 101 rigs operating in the first half, up from 73 a year earlier.
Backlog. SR34.7 billion of contracted work, lasting about four and a half years on average.
Next stop, Mexico. In June, ADES agreed to buy Saipem's Saudi shallow-water drilling business for about $285 million, including one rig working in Mexico.
#WhatToWatch
ADES has received notices to restart two of its suspended Saudi offshore rigs. A recovery at home, on top of a growing overseas book, would make 2027 a strong year.
The shares rose 1.4% on Wednesday.
