Arabian Drilling has signed a four-year contract worth approximately SAR 2 billion ($533 million) with Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) for four high-specification offshore jack-up drilling rigs.
The contract, signed on 28 September 2026, will support KJO’s offshore drilling operations. It is the largest single offshore drilling contract awarded by KJO to Arabian Drilling, according to the company’s disclosure to the Saudi Exchange.
The award increases Arabian Drilling’s total backlog to approximately SAR 18 billion, equivalent to about $4.8 billion. It will also increase the number of the company’s drilling rigs operating for KJO by 200%. The financial impact of the new contract is expected to begin at the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.
KJO is a joint operation between Aramco Gulf Operations Company and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company and carries out oil and gas operations in the Divided Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The latest award follows a three-year extension of an existing offshore drilling contract between KJO and Arabian Drilling in July 2025.
Chief Executive Fahad Albani said the new contract expands the company’s offshore business and raises its contracted backlog to a record level.
The Saudi Exchange announcement did not identify the four jack-up rigs that will be deployed under the contract.
