Saudi TAQA Buys Schlumberger’s ME Drilling Rigs Arm

Saudi Arabia’s Industrialisation and Energy Services Company has acquired Schlumberger’s Middle East onshore drilling rigs business.

The Saudi company's drilling subsidiary, Arabian Drilling Company (ADC), has agreed to acquire Schlumberger’s Middle East onshore drilling rigs business in Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Pakistan for $415mn, it said April 28.

“The transaction transforms ADC into a regional drilling leader with one of the largest rig fleets, client portfolios and geographic footprints in the Middle East,” it said. ADC, a drilling rig partnership with Schlumberger, was established in 1964 by royal decree.

Through this expansion, ADC will operate a fleet of 58 onshore rigs and 9 offshore rigs across the Middle East-North Africa region. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals, said the buyer, known as Taqa and not to be confused with the Abu Dhabi state-owned energy and water company of that name.