Saudi oil and gas driller ADES has landed a fresh two-year contract for the Compact Driller jackup with Brunei Shell Petroleum, marking its first award since completing the acquisition of Shelf Drilling.
The deal, worth around SAR 236m ($63m), was secured through Shelf Drilling, now a wholly owned ADES subsidiary. The 1992-built rig will handle plug and abandonment (P&A) work offshore Brunei.
The unit is due to start the job in the fourth quarter of 2026 after contract-prep work in Singapore. It remains on hire in India until May 2026.
CEO Mohamed Farouk said the award highlights why ADES moved to acquire Shelf Drilling, pointing to the unit’s strong safety record and hands-on P&A experience in Southeast Asia.
ADES completed its acquisition of Shelf Drilling in November, in a deal valued at approximately $520m. Headquartered in Al Khobar, the company runs the world’s largest offshore jackup fleet, with 81 jackups, a jackup barge, a mobile offshore production unit and 40 onshore rigs across 19 countries.
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