ADES resumes all suspended offshore rigs in Saudi Arabia

ADES received resumption notices for all of its offshore rigs that had been temporarily suspended in Saudi Arabia. The resumptions followed the company’s earlier guidance that the suspensions across the GCC region were event-driven rather than demand-driven, and expected to be short-term.

The return to full operations in Saudi Arabia came alongside ADES rigs in Qatar, which had already resumed and were back in full operation. ADES operates the largest offshore jackup fleet in the world, with 81 offshore jackups, including 46 premium units, one offshore jackup barge and one mobile offshore production unit, along with 40 onshore rigs.

The suspensions originated from a wave of jackup contract pauses that Saudi Aramco announced in 2024, which affected several drilling contractors operating in the kingdom. ADES has since redeployed a number of the suspended units to other regions and renewed contracts on others as they returned to service.