Muscat – KCA Deutag, the UK-based international oil and gas services company, announced the award of $204mn worth of land drilling contracts in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Bolivia, further strengthening its position in core and key markets.

In Oman, KCA Deutag has secured contracts for five rigs with one customer worth a combined value of $181mn which amounts to a total of 18 years of additional work, the company said in a statement. However, it did not mention the name of the customer in Oman.

‘As part of the agreement in Oman, two of the rigs are being upgraded with Kenera Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to save energy and reduce carbon emissions,’ KCA Deutag said.

Designed and manufactured by KCA Deutag’s Kenera business unit, the group’s technology and energy transition business, the BESS transforms the rigs into hybrid-powered assets. The battery system is charged from the existing rig generators and increases their efficiency to deliver power during peak loads, reducing the consumption of diesel and carbon emissions by approximately 15%.

‘The addition of the BESS technology to these rigs advances the company’s carbon reduction focus in Oman and follows the deployment of a grid container to another rig in the fleet which will enable it to be powered from the electrical grid instead of diesel generators,’ KCA Deutag said.

Further success in the Middle East saw the company also secure three short-term extensions in Saudi Arabia with a total value of $16mn.

In Latin America, KCA Deutag continues to build upon the positive developments recently announced, with a six-month extension of a rig in Bolivia worth around $6mn and the finalisation of two short-term workover contracts in Peru.

Simon Drew, President of Land Drilling at KCA Deutag, said, “These awards demonstrate our leading position in the Middle East and the positive momentum we have experienced in Latin America since the completion of the acquisition in May last year.”

He said, “The deployment of our BESS technology in Oman will provide our customer with improved energy efficiency and a reduction in carbon emissions while demonstrating our commitment to delivering customer-centric solutions that support sustainable drilling operations through technology, automation and energy optimisation.”

In 2023, KCA Deutag showcased the first rig ever to be built in Oman, for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The rig is the first of four modern, highly-automated rigs designed and built by Kenera business unit, following an investment from KCA Deutag of approximately $100mn. These rigs will fulfill a 10-year drilling operations contract for PDO signed in 2022.