Adnoc Drilling is looking to expand its geographical footprint to markets in the Middle East, including Syria, and is exploring opportunities to boost its gas drilling business.
Adnoc Drilling acquired 80 per cent stake in Oman’s MB Petroleum Services (MBPS) and a 70 per cent stake in global oilfield services firm SLB's land drilling rigs business in Kuwait and Oman as part of regional expansion plans last year.
Abdulla Al Messabi, chief executive of Adnoc Drilling, told The National: “We have two great vehicles today for the regional growth, the SLB and MBPS, and wherever we see opportunities for these two companies to grow, whether Syria, Egypt, Iraq, whatever, these subsidiaries will go there and compete and offer the right services to our customers.”
Syria is looking to revive its energy industry with Gulf assistance. Before the civil war, Syria produced 380,000 barrels of oil per day and 900 million cubic feet per day of gas daily, making it the Mediterranean's only significant crude producer. Output fell by about 80 per cent during the war, from 2011 to 2024.
The Ministry of Energy is seeking more than $30 billion to rehabilitate the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors.
Last month, it awarded US energy company ConocoPhillips and a company linked to Syrian-British billionaire Ayman Al Asfari a deal to develop gasfields in the country and boost production.
UAE-based Dana Gas also signed an initial agreement with Syrian Petroleum Company to explore redevelopment and expansion of gasfields in central Syria last year.
Record financial results
Adnoc Drilling posted a record second-quarter profit as revenue jumped and its operations continued despite regional geopolitical uncertainty.
Net profit for the three months to the end of June climbed to $357.06 million, an almost 2 per cent year-on-year rise, the biggest drilling company by rig count in the Middle East said on Thursday in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The rise in profit was also supported by strict cost discipline and operational efficiency during the reported period, the company said.
Revenue for the April to June quarter rose 3 per cent annually to $1.23 billion, driven by “strong oilfield services growth, disciplined execution and a highly contracted revenue base that provides strong earnings visibility”, the company added.
Adnoc Drilling said it maintained a high fleet use rate and “uninterrupted operations throughout the quarter” that supported strong cash generation and strengthened its revenue base.
The company is sticking to its full-year earnings guidance of $5 billion in revenue, $1.45 to $1.5 billion in net profit and $600 to $800 million in capex.
“The first half has demonstrated the resilience of our operation, our people, and we are already setting on a very solid ground to deliver the guidance of this year,” Mr Al Messabi said.
Adnoc Drilling is among the companies at the centre of UAE's ambitions to chart an independent production strategy, aimed at 5 million barrels per day of crude oil production capacity by 2027.
It also expects more drilling opportunities in gasfield development as Adnoc accelerates its production strategy with $6.2 billion of investment to develop the Umm Shaif gas cap project in Abu Dhabi.
Adnoc Drilling was awarded a $365 million contract for the project this month.
“Wherever Adnoc expands offshore, onshore, gas, oil condensate, petrochemical, you will see Adnoc Drilling enabling this growth,” Mr Al Messabi said. “Oilfield services has been growing dramatically and we are really gaining more market share in Abu Dhabi via competition.”
First-half boost
The company’s first-half financial performance also hit a record, with net profit for the first six months of the year climbing 2 per cent year-on-year to $706 million.
Revenue for the reporting period climbed 4 per cent on an annual basis to $2.46 billion amid strong growth across business lines.
Oilfield services revenue during the January to June period rose 5 per cent annually to $726 million, driven by “higher integrated drilling services, expanded delivery of discrete services”, the company said.
Onshore segment revenue also rose by 2 per cent from the same period a year earlier to $1.03 billion, supported by Adnoc Drilling’s operations across the UAE as well as its operations in Oman and Kuwait.
The company’s offshore revenue jumped 5 per cent annually to $703 million, which it said reflects the “contribution from new jack-ups deployed in the second half of 2025, alongside rig conversions from onshore to offshore”.
In June, Adnoc Drilling said it had activated the newest artificial intelligence-powered walking island rig three months ahead of schedule.
The new AD-300 machinery, part of a $1.54 billion programme awarded by Adnoc Offshore in 2024 and 2025, comprising six such rigs, is aimed at boosting output capacity and automation.
Adnoc Drilling has been continually expanding its footprint. The company's rig fleet stood at 170 rigs at the end of the first quarter, including 140 rigs in Abu Dhabi.
Last year, it signed a joint venture agreement with global oilfield services company SLB for its land drilling rigs business in Kuwait and Oman.
