The Houston-based Nabors Industries Ltd., the world’s biggest operator of onshore oil rigs, will form a joint drilling venture with Saudi Aramco, cementing its presence in one of the industry’s largest markets.
The two companies will be equal partners in the venture to own, manage and operate oil and natural gas rigs in Saudi Arabia, Nabors said in a statement released yesterday. Saudi Aramco and Nabors will each contribute land rigs in the first years of operation and will commit capital toward future rigs to be manufactured in Saudi Arabia, according to the statement.
The venture will begin operations in the second quarter of 2017, the companies said.
Businesses that drill wells for oil explorers have been among the hardest hit over the last two years as a global petroleum glut more than halved prices. The Nabors venture was announced on the day that General Electric Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. said they would combine drilling operations into a new service giant with $32bn in annual revenue in hopes of weathering the downturn.
For Saudi Arabia, whose economy has faltered during the crude slump, the deal “supports the wider development and localisation of industries such as rig and rig equipment manufacturing and casting and forging,” according to the company statement.
