Saudi oil and gas drilling contractor Arabian Drilling said on Wednesday that all its suspended offshore rigs in the kingdom are set to resume operations.
The announcement comes a day after its rival Ades Holding announced that all its offshore rigs in the country had restarted.
The rigs’ return to service is expected to result in 100 percent offshore fleet utilisation in Saudi Arabia by the end of the third quarter of 2026, Arabian Drilling, the country’s largest drilling contractor by fleet size, said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.
“The return of these rigs is a significant milestone for us and reinforces our confidence in the outlook for the offshore segment,” said CEO Fahad Albani.
Most of the company’s rigs are in Saudi Arabia, according to its 2025 board report.
In its first-half 2026 financial presentation, the company said 43 rigs were active out of 60, with rig utilisation reaching nearly 72 percent by the end of June.
Three offshore rigs resumed operation on August 1, which it expects will increase revenue by 4 to 6 percent in the third quarter.
Arabian Drilling’s revenue fell 7 percent to SAR767 million in the quarter ended June, mainly due to a SAR122 million impact from offshore suspensions. It swung to a SAR32 million loss in the second quarter.
The company’s shares were trading flat at SAR88.85 on Wednesday afternoon and are down 10 percent so far this year.
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