Middle East Business
Arabian Drilling wins offshore work from a new Gulf client and enters a second overseas market
By Staff Writer | 19 August 2026
The Saudi contractor says operations under the undisclosed award begin before the end of the third quarter, following early completion of its first international offshore contract and the move of the jack-up rig to another Gulf state.
Arabian Drilling, the largest drilling contractor in Saudi Arabia by fleet size, has signed an offshore contract with a client in a Gulf Cooperation Council state it has not previously worked in. The company disclosed the award on 18 August. It has not named the client and has not given a value, saying only that operations are expected to begin before the end of the third quarter of 2026.
The company said the award is expected to add to backlog, improve revenue visibility and support its longer term earnings profile. It follows the early completion of its first international offshore contract and the redeployment of the jack-up rig involved to a different Gulf state, so the fleet position behind this award is a unit already working outside the Kingdom rather than one taken off Saudi work.
Securing a new contract in another GCC country after the successful completion of our first international offshore contract ahead of schedule represents an important milestone in Arabian Drilling's growth journey.
Fahad Al-Bani, Chief Executive of Arabian Drilling
How the international position was built
The first international contract was signed in July 2025, valued at SR75 million, or about 20.02 million dollars, for offshore drilling with a company based in the Gulf. That was the first offshore operation the contractor had run outside Saudi Arabia. Completing it ahead of programme freed the rig for the redeployment that has now produced a second overseas client.
Two facts are stated and one is withheld. The start window, before the end of the third quarter, and the fact that the client is new to the contractor are both on the record. The contract value and the counterparty are not, so no reader should price this award from the July 2025 figure.
At home the offshore position has moved in the same direction this month. The contractor received notices to resume operations on the remainder of its suspended offshore rigs and expects offshore fleet utilisation to reach 100 per cent by the end of the third quarter. Several offshore units were stood down in March under what the company described at the time as its safety and operational protocols. Its active land fleet of 39 rigs continued at full capacity throughout, and that fleet was never part of the suspension.
As we continue to expand our regional presence, we remain focused on delivering sustainable growth, creating long-term value for our shareholders, and supporting the evolving needs of the energy sector across the region.
Fahad Al-Bani, Chief Executive of Arabian Drilling
What the half year figures show
The suspension left a mark on the accounts. The contractor reported a net loss of SR24.5 million for the first half of 2026, against a net profit of SR82.7 million in the same period a year earlier, and attributed the swing to the offshore operations that were stood down during the period. A new client and a return to full offshore utilisation are the two things that reverse that arithmetic, and both are now dated to the same quarter.
Why the sequence matters to a supply chain
A drilling contractor moving a jack-up between Gulf states carries a mobilisation package with it: towage or heavy lift, jacking trials, class and flag survey, spares and consumables to a new port, and a labour force that has to be permitted in the receiving state. Those costs sit in the mobilisation line and are usually recovered over the early part of the term, so a contract that starts inside the quarter it was announced leaves a short window to complete them.
For anyone pricing services around a rig on this pattern, the practical point is that the receiving country is not stated. Local content requirements, customs treatment of imported spares and the availability of yard and marine support all vary between the six Gulf states, and none of that can be assumed from the announcement. What can be taken from it is the timing. Work begins inside the third quarter, and the same quarter carries the return of the rest of the offshore fleet, so demand for marine support, catering, inspection and maintenance around this operator is scheduled to rise at both ends at once.
The company has not said whether the new contract runs beyond the current programme, and it has not published a term. Until it does, the only firm dates on the record are the start window and the utilisation target, both of which close at the end of September.