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Adnoc Drilling’s first step outside is official: Adnoc Drilling finalized its USD112mn agreement to acquire a 70% stake in the land drilling business of US oil and gas well drilling company Schlumberger Middle East (SLB) in Kuwait and Oman, according to a disclosure (pdf). This is the company’s first major inorganic expansion outside the UAE aside from one rig in Jordan, the initial agreement for which was signed in May.
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The details: The transaction established a joint venture with SLB, called SLDC Holdings, and grants the state-owned oil company immediate operational control of eight active rigs — two in Kuwait and six in Oman — already under long-term contracts with national oil companies. The rigs are fully operational, and the contracts extend into 2028.
Why this matters: These are contract-heavy, national oil company-led, and operationally familiar markets. That makes them ideal for a first move, with rigs already working and revenue flowing.
Eyes are firmly set on the GCC for expansion: “We will continue to expand in the GCC across the drilling and oilfield services space,” Adnoc Drilling’s CFO Youssef Salem told EnterpriseAM, adding that this will be done through Adnoc Drilling’s own operations as well as JVs with SLB and Oman’s MB Petroleum Services, of which it agreed to snap up 85% last November.
Expansion beyond the region could take a different form: “We will also continue to expand globally in the energy technology solutions space through Enersol,” Salem added, pointing to the export of a UAE-manufactured measurement-while-drilling system to Azerbaijan. The new tech is a result of a tie-up between Enersol, its JV with Alpha Dhabi, and US oil engineering firm Gordon Technologies.
This year, the firm plans to focus on exporting locally manufactured technology to enhance in-country value through local manufacturing, improving margins through vertical integration in the UAE, and entering new segments, Salem told us. The company expects to operate more than 151 rigs by 2028 and reach USD 5 bn in revenue in FY 2026.
