Drilling Firms Expect Big Year Ahead For Saudi Arabia

6 Feb 2026 Issue: 69 / 6 By: Jamie Ingram

Saudi Arabia is back at the center of drilling activity in the Middle East, with companies expecting a sharp uptick this year. It previously lost much of its luster amid deep Opec+ production cuts since 2023 and the abandonment of its 1mn b/d crude capacity expansion project.

For much of the last two and a half years, Saudi Arabia has not been a happy hunting ground for drilling companies. The decision to ice plans to add 1mn b/d of crude oil production capacity two years ago, (MEES, 2 February 2024) coupled with the implementation of 1.5mn b/d of voluntary production cuts in 2023, led Aramco to suspend multiple drilling contracts (MEES, 12 April 2024).

A refocusing of investments on gas development – in particular the Jafurah Basin unconventional project – helped to soften the blow, but Saudi Arabia has been a relatively muted market of late. Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of oil field services giant SLB, told his firm’s recent Q4 earnings call that while there was double-digit growth in the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait last year, this “was more than offset by the decline in Saudi Arabia.” (CONTINUED - 666 WORDS)