ADNOC Drilling Reports $1.072 Billion in Nine-Month Profit and Launches New Strategy
Key Facts
ADNOC Drilling announced its results for the first nine months of the year on October 27, 2026, alongside the launch of its "drilling to production" strategy to expand its involvement across the well lifecycle. Net profit was $1.072 billion, up 1% from $1.060 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Revenue rose 2% to $3.707 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 2% to $1.663 billion. The margin on those earnings was steady at 45%. The results combine modest operating growth with an expansion in the scope of the company's services, while the new strategy was announced on the same day as the results.
The new strategy expands the company's scope to include well completion and intervention services, production support, maintenance and optimization, alongside drilling. The company said the expansion aims to diversify revenue and increase the value generated from each well. This extends services into later stages of a well's life, rather than limiting the company's involvement to drilling. The available announcement did not include a numerical estimate of these services' contribution to revenue or profit. The company identified four growth drivers: ongoing drilling activity, integrated services, artificial intelligence and advanced engineering technologies, and partnerships that expand access to new markets. ADNOC Drilling aims to deploy about 70 integrated drilling services rigs by the end of 2026.
On execution, Deep Well Services, part of the Enersol portfolio, completed an unconventional program covering 11 wells in Abu Dhabi in 44 days, 33 days ahead of schedule. By the end of the third quarter, Turnwell had drilled 84% of the first-phase wells in ADNOC's unconventional resources program and completed fracturing on 54% of them. These figures provide operating indicators of the pace of drilling and fracturing work under the program. In its first-half results, the company said deployment of the AD-300, its first automated, AI-enabled island rig, was completed ahead of schedule, and that it expected offshore expansion to support revenue growth and efficiency in the second half of the year. This operating progress places technology and integrated services among the tools the company is using to expand its activities.
The board approved a third-quarter distribution of $350 million, equivalent to about 8.03 fils per share. The amount comprises a base distribution of $262.5 million, plus the first tranche of $87.5 million from a total estimated distribution of $175 million. Approval of the distribution comes alongside growth in profit and revenue over the nine months. In the first half of 2026, revenue was $2.46 billion, up 4% year on year, while net profit reached $706 million, an increase of 2%. In 2025, the company recorded revenue of $4.9 billion and net profit of $1.45 billion, up 22% and 11% year on year, respectively.
The company expects 2026 revenue of about $5 billion and net profit of about $1.45 billion, according to the latest guidance table published on its website. For 2027, it expects low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth, with an EBITDA margin close to the 2026 level. It also expects net profit to remain broadly stable, as business growth is offset by higher depreciation and financing costs. The company says growth beyond 2026 is based on expanding oilfield and integrated services, regional expansion and faster technology adoption, alongside investments in UAE production capacity, gas development, unconventional resources and energy infrastructure. The company's financial calendar lists February 11, 2027, as a tentative, unconfirmed date for announcing fourth-quarter 2026 results.