‘Major’ oil player books jack-up rig for drilling gig offshore Qatar

ADES Holding Company, part of Saudi Arabia-headquartered oil and gas drilling services provider ADES Group, has secured a long-term assignment for one of its jack-up rigs off the coast of Qatar.

According to ADES, a letter of award (LOA) has been received from one of the “major” international oil companies (IOCs) for an undisclosed jack-up in its rig fleet. This drilling contract, which will enable the rig to carry out operations in Qatar, is firm for one year and comes with optional extensions of up to 18 months.

“The new award follows ADES’ earlier announcement of an imminent opportunity in the region and solidifies ADES’ position in the important Qatari market, reinforcing its regional expansion strategy,” outlined the Saudi drilling firm.

This comes shortly after ADES found itself among rig owners that got a temporary suspension of operations in the Middle East for one or more jack-ups in their fleets. All suspended rigs are rumored to be working for Aramco and these suspensions are believed to be the result of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to stop increasing its maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) from 12 million barrels per day (MMBD).

Aside from ADES, COSL, Arabian Drilling, Borr Drilling, Valaris, and Shelf Drilling were also presented with rig contract suspensions.