ADES Secures $117M ONGC Contracts for Jack-Ups in India

ADES Holding has secured three-year contracts from India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) worth a combined $117.2 million (SAR 439.6 million) for two jack-up drilling rigs.

By Elena Vasquez

The awards cover the standard jack-up rigs Key Singapore and Admarine 10, with ONGC contracting each unit for a three-year firm period. The combined value includes mobilization fees for both rigs.

ADES said the awards strengthen its contracted drilling activity in India and add visibility over its international contract backlog. ADES expects operations under the new contracts to begin by the end of the first quarter of 2027, after the rigs finish their existing campaigns by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.

CEO Mohamed Farouk said: “We are pleased to further strengthen our longstanding relationship with ONGC, one of the world’s leading national energy companies and a key client for ADES in India.”

He added: “These awards reflect the strength of our partnership, our proven operating track record in the country, and the continued confidence of our clients in ADES’ ability to deliver safe, reliable and efficient drilling services.”

Which two rigs did ONGC contract?

ONGC’s award covers two named units:

• Key Singapore, a standard jack-up rig, for a three-year firm period.
• Admarine 10, a standard jack-up rig, for a three-year firm period.

ADES disclosed one combined firm value rather than separate values for the rigs. The $117.2 million total includes mobilization fees for both units. The announcement does not break out those fees or assign a portion of the headline value to either rig.

That leaves the deal as a two-rig package: a combined contract value, firm three-year terms and mobilization for both. The terms give ADES a defined workload, although the announcement offers no individual day rates or other rig-level economics.

In plain terms, ONGC has committed both rigs for three years, and the $117.2 million covers each contract plus mobilization.

When will the new operations begin?

The schedule has two linked quarter-end markers:

• ADES expects both rigs’ existing drilling campaigns to finish by the end of Q4 2026.
• ADES expects new ONGC operations to begin by the end of Q1 2027.

ADES did not provide exact start dates for either rig. It also gave no separate mobilization duration. The announced sequence leaves a transition window between the existing campaigns and the new ONGC work, and the first-quarter target depends on both rigs completing their current programs on schedule.

Any slippage in the 2026 campaigns would narrow that transition window, though ADES has not described the transition in detail. The firm award therefore pairs backlog visibility with a defined execution timetable.

In plain terms, the target is an ONGC start by end-Q1 2027, following completion of current campaigns by end-Q4 2026.

What changes for ADES’s backlog?

For ADES, the immediate effect is more contracted drilling activity in India and greater visibility over its international contract backlog, the company said. The two awards extend work with ONGC, which Farouk described as a longstanding relationship and a key client in the country.

His comments place the company’s operating record at the center of the award. Farouk linked ONGC’s decision to ADES’ partnership, track record and ability to deliver safe, reliable and efficient drilling services. That is the company’s own assessment, rather than a disclosed performance metric.

The announcement does not disclose rig-level values, day rates or expected margins, so the $117.2 million figure remains the clearest measure of the package’s commercial scale. The firm periods give the backlog three years of contracted duration, while mobilization adds a near-term execution requirement.

In plain terms, ADES gains two firm three-year positions in India and more backlog visibility, but the announcement gives no margin detail.

What execution points matter now?

The first watch item is the close of the current campaigns by the end of Q4 2026. The second is actual startup of the ONGC work by the end of Q1 2027. The company set the same two quarter-end markers for both units.

Mobilization forms part of the contract value, but the announcement does not say when the company will mobilize either unit or whether the two transitions will run concurrently. The start target therefore offers a quarterly deadline rather than a detailed deployment plan.

Farouk’s emphasis on safety, reliability and efficiency defines ADES’s stated execution standard. The commercial commitment is clear enough: two rigs, three years apiece and $117.2 million including mobilization. The operational test comes when the rigs leave their existing campaigns and begin ONGC work.

In plain terms, the commercial terms are set; the next test is keeping both rigs on the Q4 2026-to-Q1 2027 transition schedule.

What should readers watch?

The next checkpoints are straightforward: both existing campaigns carry an end-Q4 2026 target, and ONGC operations carry an end-Q1 2027 start target. The announcement gives no separate mobilization dates for either unit, so startup timing will show whether the package enters work as scheduled.

With $117.2 million and two three-year firm positions secured, ADES now needs both rigs to clear their current campaigns by end-Q4 2026 and start ONGC work by end-Q1 2027.