ADNOC Drilling has completed its acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in Oman’s MB Petroleum Services, marking a significant step in the Abu Dhabi company’s regional expansion strategy.

The transaction, valued at US$204 million, was finalised ahead of the company’s mid-year schedule and gives ADNOC Drilling a stronger operational base across key Gulf energy markets, including Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. MB Holding will retain a 20 per cent stake in the joint venture, while ADNOC Drilling will hold the remaining 80 per cent through a wholly owned subsidiary.

The acquired business includes 22 drilling and workover rigs, production service units and active operations across the four Gulf countries. ADNOC Drilling said the deal is expected to improve earnings and cash flow, while supporting the company’s long-term regional growth plans.

“The completion of MBPS strengthens Adnoc Drilling’s long-term regional capability by adding established operating scale and deep field execution capability in the region,” Abdulla Al Messabi, ADNOC Drilling chief executive and MBPS chairman, said, as reported by The National.

“This transaction reflects our disciplined, value-accretive growth strategy as we continue to invest in people and long-term capability across this region, with safety at the centre of our operations. The integration of automation, AI, digital systems and data-driven workflows will further strengthen safe and consistent delivery at scale,” he was reported as adding.

The acquisition comes as ADNOC Drilling continues to expand beyond its core UAE market. The company is the largest integrated drilling services provider in the Middle East by fleet size and owned 142 rigs at the end of 2024, with three island rigs on order for 2026. It expects to grow its rig count to at least 148 by the end of this year and to 151 by 2028.

The deal also fits into ADNOC Drilling’s wider regional strategy. In May 2025, the company entered into a joint venture with global oilfield services company SLB for land drilling rig operations in Kuwait and Oman, a move that signalled a broader push to build scale outside the UAE. Reuters reported at the time that the SLB deal would initially add eight onshore rigs across Oman and Kuwait.

ADNOC Drilling has also continued to secure major contracts in its home market. In 2025, it won more than $5 billion in new contracts, including a five-year $1.63 billion integrated drilling services contract and a $1.15 billion contract for two jack-up rigs from ADNOC Offshore. The company also secured an $800 million contract from ADNOC Onshore for integrated hydraulic fracturing services for conventional and tight reservoirs.

Financially, ADNOC Drilling enters the transaction from a position of strength. The company reported record full-year net income for 2025, with net profit rising 11 per cent to $1.45 billion for the year ended December.

The company said MBPS’s 2026 financial results will be fully consolidated within ADNOC Drilling’s onshore segment from the closing date. The contribution has already been included in ADNOC Drilling’s publicly disclosed full-year 2026 guidance, with the first full-year contribution expected in 2027.

For MB Petroleum Services, the transaction brings a larger regional platform and access to ADNOC Drilling’s technology, systems and operational scale. MB Holding vice chairman Usama Al Barwani said the partnership reflected strong alignment between the two shareholders and confidence in MBPS’s long-term growth, according to The National.

Salim Al Harthy, chief executive of MB Petroleum Services, described the deal as a “transformational milestone”, saying it would strengthen the company’s ability to expand across the Middle East and North Africa region, as reported.

The acquisition reinforces ADNOC Drilling’s position in the Gulf’s energy services market at a time when regional producers continue to invest in upstream capacity, operational efficiency and more technology-enabled field execution. For ADNOC Drilling, the MBPS deal adds immediate operating scale, regional diversification and an established asset base in markets that remain strategically important to the wider energy sector.