The drilling unit of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has officially announced the closing of an agreement to form Turnwell Industries, a joint venture (JV) with SLB and Patterson-UTI.
The JV cements a partnership that will lead the UAE’s entry into the unconventional revolution. ADNOC Drilling holds a 55% majority equity stake, SLB owns 30%, and Patterson-UTI holds the remaining 15%.
“This joint venture is a groundbreaking achievement and is already paying dividends through the significant reduction in well delivery time as seen through the first wells being delivered in record time,” Abdulrahman Abdulla Al Seiari, CEO of ADNOC Drilling, said in the announcement.
In May, ADNOC signed nonbinding partnership agreements with SLB and Patterson-UTI, awarding the two service providers with minority stakes in Turnwell, which serves as the unconventional projects arm of ADNOC Drilling.
The JV oversees a $1.7 billion unconventional drilling contract for the development of 144 unconventional oil and gas wells in the UAE. Turnwell said in October that it would be sharing ownership with SLB and Patterson-UTIas it focused on accelerating its operations.
Using advanced measurement-while-drilling technology, drill-bit designs, and rotary steerable systems, Turnwell successfully delivered in just under 20 days the fastest well time so far in its 144-well drilling campaign. The recent campaign achieved a 13% improvement in well delivery time compared with the previous record and a 53% reduction in well delivery over the four wells in the pad.
Turnwell said it is also exploring the potential for future opportunities in unconventional resources in the UAE. Abu Dhabi holds an estimated 220 billion bbl of tight oil and 460 Tcf of unconventional gas in place. The closing of the joint venture marks the first step toward developing these resources, Al Seiari said.
“Closing the Turnwell JV with SLB and Patterson-UTI advances our plans to unlock the UAE’s world-class unconventional energy resources, reinforcing the UAE’s position as a global leader in the responsible supply of energy,” he added in the statement.
