Saudi Arabian state oil giant Saudi Aramco has shown no signs of cutting drilling despite pledges to cut output. As it continues to invest in the upstream, it has recently signed a slew of deals with upstream firms, the most significant of which was on 14 December when Aramco signed two “landmark” deals to create two “national champions” JVs with US-listed drilling contractors Nabors and Rowan.
Nabors’ primary area of expertise is in onshore drilling while Rowan operates chiefly offshore rigs. The new JVs will invest between $6-7bn to buy onshore rigs and offshore jack-ups. The aim is to keep spending in-country, with the rigs being manufactured within the kingdom by Aramco, creating an additional 5,000 jobs as part of Saudi Arabia’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) program – the latest iteration of what was previously termed ‘Saudization’ – and Saudi Vision 2030. Operations are expected to begin in Q2 this year. (CONTINUED - 509 WORDS)
