Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Drilling purchases two offshore jack-up rigs for $200m

ADNOC Drilling Company has signed an agreement to acquire two premium Gusto MSC CJ46-X100-D design offshore jack-up drilling units (rigs) for a combined cost of $200m.

The acquisition is part of the Abu Dhabi-based company’s fleet expansion and growth strategy, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

ADNOC Drilling has almost doubled its offshore jack-up rig fleet to 32 since early 2021, with further expansion expected in 2023 and beyond. The latest agreement adds to earlier deals for a total of nine rigs acquired this year and four rigs acquired in 2021.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Drilling purchases three offshore jack-up rigs for $320m

“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,” said Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Seiari, chief executive officer of ADNOC Drilling.

“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.”

Read: Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Drilling acquires offshore jack-up rig for $70m

Since its listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in October 2021, ADNOC Drilling has expanded the fleet from 95 to 108 owned rigs, as of September 30, 2022. The company has also signed more than $13bn of contracts since its IPO.

ADNOC Drilling reported $1.94bn in revenue for the first nine months of the year, posting a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, while its net profit totalled $568m.