Adnoc invests Dh350m in rigs acquisition to boost production capacity

The inclusion of four new rigs takes the value of UAE-built rigs in Adnoc Drilling fleet to more than Dh7bn

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. 05 November 2019. General show image from the third day of ADIPEC at ADNOC. (Photo: Antonie Robertson/The National) Journalist: None. Section: National.
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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company plans to acquire dozens of land, offshore and island rigs in a fleet expansion programme to support ramping up its oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030.

Adnoc Drilling, a subsidiary of the state-controlled oil and gas giant, spent Dh350 million in acquiring four UAE-made rigs this month, which are expected to join the fleet in the first quarter of next year. The new additions have pushed  the value of UAE-built rigs in Adnoc Drilling's fleet to more than Dh7 billion, Adnoc said on Thursday.

The rig fleet expansion programme is "pivotal" to "substantially increase drilling for conventional oil and gas" as well as ramping up the number of unconventional wells to grow oil production capacity and achieve gas self-sufficiency, said Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, Adnoc's upstream executive director.

The UAE accounts for 4 per cent of global crude production, much of it sourced from fields owned and operated by Adnoc in Abu Dhabi.

Adnoc plans to grow its conventional drilling activity 40 per cent by 2025 and substantially ramp up the number of its unconventional wells, as it targets an increase in oil production capacity to 4 million bpd by the end of 2020 and 5 million by 2030. Offshore fields contribute close to 50 per cent of Adnoc's daily oil production capacity.

Adnoc Drilling completed its first offshore integrated drilling services well in Umm Lulu offshore oilfield to boost the efficiency of its oil production in September.

"Our rig fleet has expanded more than three-fold in less than a decade, from 29 rigs in 2010 to our current 95 rigs," said Adnoc Drilling chief executive Abdalla Saeed Al Suwaidi.

"The next phase of expansion will further strengthen Adnoc Drilling’s capabilities and reinforce our key role of supporting the Adnoc Group in capturing more value from every barrel of oil it produces," he added.