ADES firms up jack-up rig’s drilling gig in Thailand

ADES Holding Company, part of Saudi Arabia-headquartered oil and gas drilling services provider ADES Group, has ironed out all the details for a new offshore drilling assignment, which will be undertaken by one of its jack-up rigs off the coast of Thailand.

The signing of the drilling contract with Thailand’s national oil and gas company PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) follows the letter of intent (LOI) from March 2024. The work in Thailand, which will bring the company $94 million (SAR 354 million), is expected to start in the second half of 2024.

While ADES did not provide more information about the jack-up rig, which will embark on the drilling program, the firm’s LOI previously outlined that the contract, covering a firm period of 18 months, could be extended further thanks to a nine-month option.

This deal comes shortly after ADES announced that it had boosted its total redeployment level of the recently suspended rigs in Saudi Arabia to three out of five jack-ups, thanks to drilling campaigns in Qatar, Thailand, and Egypt.

PTTEP is actively seeking ways to expand its hydrocarbon resources in Thailand and elsewhere, as confirmed by a trifecta of oil and gas discoveries offshore Malaysia in 2023.