SAUDI ARABIA —Arabian Drilling Company has finalized a five-year contract extension with SLB Middle East S.A. valued at approximately SAR 2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, the provider will supply eight additional land rigs dedicated to gas turnkey operations, drawing from its existing land fleet. Revenue recognition from these deployed units is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, bringing the firm’s total order backlog to SAR 16 billion.
The expansion highlights the operational synergy between Arabian Drilling and SLB, which also maintains a major equity stake in the drilling services enterprise. By redeploying idle and available onshore assets into long-term gas contracts, Arabian Drilling minimizes capital expenditure while improving fleet utilization and securing predictable cash flow streams through late 2031.
This commercial agreement aligns directly with ongoing upstream initiatives within Saudi Arabia to scale domestic natural gas supply. Expanding gas infrastructure and production capacity remains a critical operational priority across regional energy supply chains to support domestic industrialization and power generation needs.
For market participants and institutional investors, the contract provides heightened multi-year revenue visibility and reinforces the financial resilience of oilfield services firms operating in the Middle East. Continued investments in land rig infrastructure signal steady project pipelines across non-conventional and conventional gas fields in the region.
