KCA Deutag awarded land rig contract in Oman

The 10-year contract comes with options to extend for a further two years and, with those options included, has a total value around US$550 million.

The innovative rigs will be constructed by International Drilling Technology Co. (IDTEC) in Oman. IDTEC, majority owned by the KCA Deutag Group, is the group's local rig manufacturing and servicing company, which has already acquired the necessary expertise and certifications for rig construction. The technologically advanced rigs will be the first of their kind to be constructed in the Sultanate of Oman, marking a step change in the rig building capabilities in country.

KCA Deutag Energy LLC will invest approximately US$100 million to build the new rigs in the Sultanate of Oman and expects to commence operations in the second half of 2023. Around 40% of this value will be spent with Omani suppliers, including local small and medium enterprise (SME) companies.

The rig design and all key components will be provided by KCA Deutag's new business unit, Kenera, through its Bentec engineering and manufacturing centre. The modern rigs will be highly automated, fast-moving units designed for safe and efficient drilling operations in well-established Omani fields and will benefit from the latest technologies from KCA Deutag's Well of Innovation.

Mohammed Al Rashdi, PDO Well Engineering Director, said: "Awarding this contract to KCA Deutag Energy LLC is a key step in establishing local rig manufacturing capabilities, especially for mechanised rigs capitalizing on PDO journey to modernize its rigs fleet. This will also come with an opportunity to train and develop local Omanis in the design and manufacture of mechanised rigs, in addition, to supporting Omani SMEs and providing job opportunities for Omanis. It is a step change in the country to have locally manufactured light rigs for PDO."

Simon Drew, President of KCA Deutag's Land Operation, said: "KCA Deutag has been operating in Sultanate of Oman and working for PDO for almost 60 years and we are delighted to have been awarded this opportunity to continue this long-standing relationship. This investment demonstrates our commitment to PDO and the Sultanate of Oman to deliver outstanding In-Country Value with the first four rigs constructed locally. It is also validation of our excellent safety record, incident-free operations and technological performance – as well as an opportunity to deliver energy-efficient rigs that benefit from our fuel optimisation technology and are capable of adopting grid and hybrid technologies in the future."

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