ADNOC Drilling has won its first offshore work in Kuwait. The ADNOC Drilling Kuwait contracts cover two jack-up rigs for Kuwait Oil Company, with a combined maximum value of about US$313.6m, or roughly AED 1.15bn, over a four-year firm term. For businesses in the UAE that supply rigs, crews, equipment and services, the award is a sign that Abu Dhabi’s largest driller is taking its fleet, and its supply chain, further across the Gulf.
The short version
- ADNOC Drilling received letters of award from Kuwait Oil Company for two offshore jack-up rigs worth up to KWD 96.55m (about US$313.6m, or AED 1.15bn).
- Each contract runs for four firm years, including mobilisation, with a one-year option that is not included in the value.
- Operations are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the first full-year contribution in 2028.
- The company plans to use one of its own rigs and to charter a second on a bareboat basis.
What happened
ADNOC Drilling announced on 10 November 2026 that it had received letters of award from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for two high-specification offshore jack-up rigs under tender RFP-2151011, approved by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s Higher Procurement Committee. According to the company’s release, the combined maximum value is KWD 96,554,561, which it puts at approximately US$313.6m. The awards remain subject to conditions and the completion of contract formalities.
The release says the expected 2027 contribution is already reflected in the company’s preliminary 2027 guidance. The National reports that the deals mark the company’s entry into Kuwait’s offshore market and that ADNOC Drilling has a fleet of about 170 rigs, 140 of them in Abu Dhabi. Chief executive Abdulla Al Messabi said the award “marks ADNOC Drilling’s entry into offshore Kuwait and an important step forward in our international growth journey.”
The Kuwait deal is small next to ADNOC Drilling’s profits, but it is new money
AED, converted from US$ at the fixed rate of AED 3.6725 per US$
Why it matters
The money is modest for a company that earned about US$1.07bn in the first nine months of the year. What matters more is the direction. ADNOC Drilling has already bought into land drilling in Oman and Kuwait; this is its first offshore contract in Kuwait, a producer that wants to raise capacity to 4 million barrels a day by 2035. A foothold now puts the company in line for more tenders later, and each rig that moves abroad carries a UAE-based chain of maintenance, catering, logistics and technical staff with it.
The knock-on effects
First order: rigs, crews and charter owners
Two rigs have to be readied and mobilised before late 2027. One will come from ADNOC Drilling’s own fleet and one will be chartered without crew, so rig owners, shipyards and crewing firms in the UAE have work to bid for in 2027.
Second order: UAE service and supply firms
Offshore rigs need steady supply: spare parts, drilling fluids, inspection, marine support and camp services. UAE firms that already serve ADNOC Drilling at home are well placed to follow it into Kuwait, which spreads their income across more than one national oil company.
Third order: ADX investors and the energy cluster
For investors on the ADX, the award adds to a growing international book and to the case that Abu Dhabi’s energy companies can sell services, not only hydrocarbons. It fits the wider push covered in our report on ADIPEC 2026 deals worth about AED 246bn.
Who could benefit
- Rig owners and shipyards able to supply or refit a jack-up for a bareboat charter.
- Oilfield service firms in Abu Dhabi that already work on ADNOC Drilling rigs.
- Recruiters and crewing agencies placing offshore staff from 2027.
- Shareholders looking for growth outside Abu Dhabi from 2028.
Who may face pressure
- Rival drillers bidding for Kuwait’s offshore work.
- Local rig users in the UAE, if a rig leaving the home fleet tightens supply.
- Smaller suppliers without the scale or paperwork to work in a second Gulf market.
What to watch
- Signing of final contracts, which the company says remain subject to formalities.
- ADNOC Drilling’s full-year 2026 results and 2027 guidance, expected in early 2027.
- Which rig is chartered, and from whom, before the fourth quarter of 2027.
- Further offshore tenders from Kuwait Oil Company. More energy coverage is on our UAE Energy page, including ADNOC Gas’s third-quarter results.
Sources
- ADNOC Drilling, ADNOC Drilling Receives Letters of Award from Kuwait Oil Company for Two Offshore Jack-Up Rigs with a Maximum Value of $313.6m, 10 November 2026
- The National, Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc Drilling wins contracts worth $314m from Kuwait Oil Company, 10 November 2026
- Central Bank of the UAE, dirham peg of AED 3.6725 per US dollar (used for conversions)
This is analysis, not investment advice. Figures are as of 11 November 2026.
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