MEOG: Arabian Drilling picks up rig deal

Saudi Arabia’s services firm Arabian Drilling has received contracts worth SAR3bn ($800mn) from majority state-owned Saudi Aramco covering the supply of 10 land rigs.

The 10 contracts have a fixed term of five-years and will add to the rigs Arabian Drilling has already supplied to aid Aramco’s development of the Kingdom’s unconventional resources.

All 10 land rigs are new-builds and will join Arabian Drilling’s current land rig fleet of 38 units.

CEO Ghassan Mirdad said: “We are delighted with Aramco’s trust in awarding Arabian Drilling these multiple contracts, providing us with the opportunity to establish our footprint in the Unconventional Programme. This award fits perfectly with our growth strategy execution and we have strengthened the company’s balance sheet precisely to be able to support growth capex opportunities like this one.”

In Q3 last year, 26.7mn shares in Arabian Drilling – 30% of the total – were sold when it listed on the local Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) – the Riyadh stock exchange, raising $712mn.

Goldman Sachs, HSBC Holdings and SNB Capital were hired to manage the book-building process, which determined the final price.