Helmerich & Payne secures Saudi Aramco rig contract
Helmerich & Payne (H&P), a New York-listed drilling contractor, announced on February 12 the conclusion of contractual terms with Saudi Aramco regarding a recent seven-rig tender award.
These rigs have been granted five-year contracts, with one-year options, and are poised to commence operations shortly after their scheduled delivery, primarily set for the fourth quarter of 2024.
In the fiscal year 2024, Helmerich & Payne plans to convert the rigs to walking configurations and equip them to align with Saudi Aramco’s unconventional gas drilling rig specifications.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Saudi Aramco and supporting their unconventional gas drilling campaign. With the additional capital invested, we believe these highly-mobile, pad-capable super-spec rigs will be some of the most capable rigs in the world to be used for unconventional drilling,” H&P CEO John Lindsay commented.
The company anticipates total capital expenditures related to these rigs to be in the range of $175 to $196mn, with an estimated $30 to $35mn expected to be spent in fiscal 2025.
State-backed Saudi Aramco is continuing to build out its gas capabilities. In 2022, the company announced it would bring on stream the $100bn Jafurah onshore unconventional gas project in 2025. Situated east of the supergiant Ghawar oilfield, Jafurah is Saudi Arabia's largest deposit of unconventional gas, with an estimated 5.7 trillion m3 in reserves.