An Adnoc drilling rig in action. The company has achieved $2.27 billion in revenue for the 2021 financial year. Image courtesy of Adnoc
An Adnoc drilling rig in action. The company has achieved $2.27 billion in revenue for the 2021 financial year. Image courtesy of Adnoc
An Adnoc drilling rig in action. The company has achieved $2.27 billion in revenue for the 2021 financial year. Image courtesy of Adnoc
An Adnoc drilling rig in action. The company has achieved $2.27 billion in revenue for the 2021 financial year. Image courtesy of Adnoc

Adnoc Drilling reports 6% rise in 2021 income on revenue jump


Sarmad Khan
  • English
  • Arabic

Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Company’s drilling subsidiary, Adnoc Drilling, reported a 6 per cent rise in its full year 2021 net income on the back of higher revenue as the company continues to support Adnoc’s efforts to grow its production capacity.

Net profit for the 12-month period to the end of December climbed to $604 million, from $569m recorded for the same period a year earlier, Adnoc Drilling said in a regulatory filing on Friday, to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Revenue for the reporting period rose to $2.27 billion from $2.09bn reported at the end of 2020. The company attributed the rise in revenue to additional drilling services provided to Adnoc, Adnoc Onshore and Adnoc Offshore operations.

"The strong full year results and successful strategic execution are testament to the vital role that the company is playing in enabling significant production capacity growth for Adnoc as well as the UAE’s objective to achieve gas self-sufficiency," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Adnoc managing director and group chief executive, and chairman of Adnoc Drilling.

The company's board is recommending a final dividend of $325m for the second half of 2021, bringing the total dividend for the financial year to $685m, in line with the guidance provided at the time of the company's initial public offering.

"We are also able to reconfirm our guidance objective of 5 per cent annual growth in dividend per share from 2022-2026,” Dr Sultan said.

Adnoc Drilling raised more than $1.1bn in September from its initial public offering, which was oversubscribed more than 31 times.

State-controlled oil and gas producer Adnoc remains Adnoc Drilling's majority shareholder, with an 84 per cent stake. US energy services company Baker Hughes, which entered into a strategic partnership with Adnoc Drilling in October 2018, has 5 per cent and US contract oil and gas driller Helmerich & Payne holds 1 per cent shareholding in the company.

Adnoc Drilling, which is the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size, said its revenue from onshore operations climbed 6 per cent to $1.14bn in the last financial year, largely driven by new rigs and rig reactivations. Offshore Jackup operations revenue for the reporting period was $596m, broadly unchanged from $597m in 2020.

We remain very enthusiastic about the year ahead as we build out our drilling assets and oilfield services with our strategic partners Baker Hughes and Helmerich & Payne
Abdulrahman Al Seiari,
chief executive, Adnoc Drilling

The company’s oilfield services segment also performed well throughout the year, driven by higher activity from continued expansion, with revenue increasing 48 per cent year-on-year to $329m.

Fleet utilisation rate last year reached 96 per cent and the company’s cash from operations jumped 7 per cent year-on-year to $1.08bn, which equates to cash conversion of 104 per cent of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

Capital expenditure for the full year increased 34 per cent to $505m in 2021, as the company continued to pursue expansion plans.

"We remain very enthusiastic about the year ahead as we build out our drilling assets and oilfield services with our strategic partners Baker Hughes and Helmerich & Payne," said Abdulrahman Al Seiari, chief executive of Adnoc Drilling.

"Technology and innovation will be at the heart of that programme, and we are looking forward to reporting on a number of important milestones for the company in the months to come."

In December, Adnoc Drilling signed a deal with Helmerich & Payne to improve its land rig operational performance. The Rig Enablement Framework Agreement between the two companies will also support Adnoc Drilling’s growth and expansion plans.

Also in December, Adnoc Drilling agreed a five-year $3.8bn contract with Adnoc Onshore for the continued provision of drilling, workover and other well services that will drive efficiency in work crews, rig move time and maintenance scheduling.

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes. 

The trip

From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.

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Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')

Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The Byblos iftar in numbers

29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month

50 staff members required to prepare an iftar

200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly

160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total

500 litres of soup is served during the holy month

200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes

350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes

5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

The specs

Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel

Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power: 1877bhp

Torque: 2300Nm

Price: Dh7,500,00

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The 10 Questions
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  • Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
  • How do we shape the future?
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Main card

Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision

Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision

Lightweight 60kg:  Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3

Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision

Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision

Light heavyweight 81.4kg:  Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round

MATCH INFO

What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

While you're here

The Saga Continues

Wu-Tang Clan

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UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SQUAD

Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

SPECS
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Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

If you go

The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road. 

The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
 

AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street

The seven points are:

Shakhbout bin Sultan Street

Dhafeer Street

Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)

Salama bint Butti Street

Al Dhafra Street

Rabdan Street

Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)

Updated: February 11, 2022, 8:54 AM