The U.S. offshore drilling company Rowan has informed that ARO Drilling was awarded six three-year contracts by Saudi Aramco for Rowan jack-up rigs currently operating in Saudi Arabia.
ARO Drilling, a 50/50 joint venture between Rowan and Saudi Aramco, started operations on October 17, 2017.
These new contracts will start upon completion of the rigs’ existing contracts later this year.
Tom Burke , President, and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our partnership with Saudi Aramco in ARO Drilling and our operational track record in the Middle East have paved the way for this award of eighteen years of jack-up backlog. We believe these six three-year contract awards, and the five three-year contracts awarded earlier this year, continue to demonstrate the value ARO Drilling will create over the coming years.”
The rigs Rowan Middletown, Charles Rowan, and Arch Rowan are expected to be leased to ARO Drilling in September, and the Rowan Mississippi is expected to be leased to ARO Drilling in December to fulfill these new drilling contracts.
The Scooter Yeargain and Hank Boswell rigs, as previously announced will be sold to ARO Drilling in October, and will immediately start their new drilling contracts upon the rig ownership transfer to the joint venture.
According to Bassoe Analytics, Saudi Aramco is the oil company with the most contracted jack-up rigs in the world – 47 – followed by India’s ONGC with 27, ADNOC with 25, CNOOC 21, Pemex 18 etc…