$54 million of new land drilling contracts secured by KCA Deutag

Further to the announcement issued on 18 February, KCA Deutag announced the award of new contracts on the back of strong tendering activity in its land drilling business. These contracts, with a combined value of approximately $54 million, are for drilling operations in the Middle East, Russia, Europe and Africa.

Middle East

Tendering activity in the Middle East in particular continues to increase, with a high level of demand for rigs.

A client has contracted three 2000hp desert rigs for an option period to reserve them for a future project. These high-performance rigs were originally manufactured by Bentec, KCA Deutag’s drilling rig and oilfield equipment manufacturer, at its production facilities in Germany. Bentec’s rigs are built to operate in the world’s most challenging environments, and are suited to the extreme heat of the desert.

In Iraq, KCA Deutag has also been awarded a new contract for a 2000hp land rig to drill seven wells for a global provider of products and services to the energy industry. This drilling program is expected to commence in April and last until early next year.

Russia

In Russia one of KCA Deutag’s 1000hp land rigs has been awarded a new five-year drilling contract, including options, by one of the country’s leading oil and gas companies. KCA Deutag has been operating in Russia since 2002 and it is one of the group’s largest areas of operation.

Africa

In Algeria, the company has also won a new drilling contract for one of Bentec’s fast moving 1500hp speed rigs which will commence in June. The rig will carry out a short-term plug and abandonment program.

Europe

In Germany, KCA Deutag has won two short-term contracts, both of which will commence in September. The first is for a Bentec built 2,000hp EURO rig to drill one well and the other is for a 1,500hp EURO rig to drill a sidetrack well.

“It is good to see activity picking up in the international drilling industry once again across various markets, and whilst pricing remains very competitive, we are pleased to see this feeding through to an increase in utilization across our land drilling fleet,” Simon Drew, President of Land, said.