For much of the last two and a half years, Saudi Arabia has not been a happy hunting ground for drilling companies. The decision to ice plans to add 1mn b/d of crude oil production capacity two years ago, (MEES, 2 February 2024) coupled with the implementation of 1.5mn b/d of voluntary production cuts in 2023, led Aramco to suspend multiple drilling contracts (MEES, 12 April 2024).

A refocusing of investments on gas development – in particular the Jafurah Basin unconventional project – helped to soften the blow, but Saudi Arabia has been a relatively muted market of late. Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of oil field services giant SLB, told his firm’s recent Q4 earnings call that while there was double-digit growth in the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait last year, this “was more than offset by the decline in Saudi Arabia.” (CONTINUED - 666 WORDS)

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