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ABU DHABI / WAM
Adnoc Drilling Company announced it has signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire two additional premium offshore jack-up drilling units.
The two new rigs have a combined cost of AED514.22 ($140 million) and will join the Adnoc Drilling fleet and commence operations by the end of 2022.
The acquisition, which underpins the company’s accelerated fleet expansion and enterprising growth, is the fourth confirmed by the company in recent months. Earlier sale and purchase agreements were signed on May 30 (for two rigs), June 10 (one rig) and August 24 (one rig).
Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Seiari, Chief Executive Officer of Adnoc Drilling, commented, “Adnoc Drilling takes another exciting step in executing our accelerated growth strategy as a key enabler of Adnoc’s production capacity. The acquisition of these new jack-up rigs consolidates our position as the owner of one of the largest operating jack-up fleets in the world and will significantly boost Company revenues, cash flow and shareholder returns over the coming years.”
Since listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in October 2021, Adnoc Drilling has rapidly expanded its fleet from 96 to 105 owned rigs, as of July 31.
With the addition of these two premium jack-up rigs, the company will own one of the largest operating fleets of offshore jack-up rigs in the world, with 32 rigs, and has plans for further fleet growth.
Adnoc Drilling continues demonstrating strong and resilient growth combined with a sustainable and progressive dividend. In the first half of 2022 the company delivered revenue of $1.27 billion, a 13% increase year-on-year, with $379 million in net income – a 34% increase. It also confirmed that the interim dividend per share increased by 5% to 7.83 fils per share, bringing the first payment of fiscal year 2022 to $341 million.