Saudi Aramco awards major onshore drilling works

Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, August 1, 2023 – Arabian Drilling has signed contracts with NOC Saudi Aramco worth USD 799 million to charter 10 onshore drilling rigs for an unconventional gas programme, the local drilling entity announced in a bourse filing on Monday.

The five-year contracts will see the new rigs added to Saudi Aramco’s current fleet of 38 rigs, representing a 26% increase.

While specific fields targeted in the campaign were not disclosed, Upstream Online reported that the rigs were likely to be deployed on the Jafurah gas project, the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East.

Covering an area of 17,000 square kilometres, the play contains an estimated 200 tcf of gas.

Capital expenditure on the Jafurah project is expected to be around USD 68 billion over the course of its 10-year development.

The project began in November 2021 with Saudi Aramco handing out 16 subsurface and EPC contracts worth USD 10 billion.

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