With $1.7 billion in the bag, ADNOC Drilling creates new player to drill 144 unconventional oil & gas wells

UAE-based drilling giant ADNOC Drilling has got a hold of a $1.7 billion contract to unlock the country’s unconventional oil and gas resources. In a bid to explore unconventional energy opportunities, the UAE player has established a new company, Turnwell Industries LLC OPC (Turnwell), enabling it to undertake unconventional drilling operations for the country’s oil and gas heavyweight, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Following the award of a $1.7 billion contract for drilling and associated services to recover unconventional energy resources, Turnwell will deliver 144 unconventional oil and gas wells. ADNOC Drilling has also inked a term sheet to enter into a strategic partnership with Schlumberger Middle East (SLB) and Patterson-UTI International Holdings, subject to signing definitive agreements and any necessary regulatory approvals.

Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, ADNOC Upstream’s Executive Director and Vice Chairman of ADNOC Drilling, commented: “Our goal at ADNOC is to provide the energy and energy products that people depend on every day to power their lives and ensure a just, orderly and equitable energy transition.

“This award will accelerate the development of Abu Dhabi’s world-class resources to meet the world’s growing demand for affordable, accessible energy. ADNOC Drilling is perfectly placed to responsibly develop these resources. Utilizing partnerships, innovative AI, digitalization and advanced technologies we will unlock Abu Dhabi’s abundant energy resources, to drive value for the UAE.”

ADNOC Drilling is determined to leverage innovations in AI smart drilling design, completions engineering, and production solutions to spearhead unconventional energy drilling development within the Middle East region and secure the UAE’s unconventional energy needs and resources. The firm’s recent joint venture with Alpha Dhabi, Enersol, is expected to enable this.

The initial phase of unconventional development is expected to employ up to nine land rigs, of which five are already included in ADNOC Drilling’s fleet as of December 31, 2023. As unconventional energy refers to oil and gas resources trapped in subsurface reservoirs requiring additional technology and processes to unlock them, this includes but is not limited to offshore, oil sands, shale oil/gas, tight oil/gas, and gas hydrates.

Since Abu Dhabi is estimated to hold 220 billion barrels of unconventional oil and 460 TCF of unconventional gas in place, ADNOC Drilling believes that the opportunity in unconventional energy presents “outstanding scale with the production potential comparable to some of the most plentiful unconventional energy resources in the U.S.”

Abdulrahman Abdulla Al Seiari, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Drilling, remarked: “Abu Dhabi’s unconventional energy resources are among the world’s largest. This award, for 144 wells is just the beginning. It represents a transformational opportunity for ADNOC Drilling as the UAE’s world class unconventional energy resources will require many thousands more wells and we are in a prime position to deliver them.”

After employing over 30 artificial intelligence solutions across its full value chain to curb its emissions footprint while generating $500 million in value during 2023, ADNOC recently obtained its third 15-year LNG deal for the Ruwais liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is expected to be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to run on clean power.