OREANDA-NEWS.  Under the patronage and attendance of H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al- Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar (OPQL) and Gulf Drilling International (GDI), a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS) have signed a 5 year contract for OPQL to use GDI’s recently acquired drilling rig. The contract was signed by Steve Kelly, President and General Manager of OPQL and Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, Chief Executive Officer of GDI.

The total value of this contract is QR865 million. The signing was attended by Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Director of Oil & Gas Ventures of Qatar Petroleum and Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Sandy Lowe, President of Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation (OOGC) - International Production.

This will mark the third rig that GDI has under contract to Occidental Petroleum of Qatar, having already successfully deployed the Al Rayyan and Al Wajba jack-up rigs in support of their extensive development program. GDI was recently commended by OPQL for the excellent performance of its rigs.

On the occasion, H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, hailed the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, and his continuous support to the oil and gas sector. H.E. Dr. Al-Sada also recognized GDI’s continuous success and voiced his appreciation for what GDI has achieved.

Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxy said: "Occidental Petroleum is fully committed not only to further development of the fields we operate in Qatar, but also to the strengthening of Qatar’s in-country capabilities in oil field services. This contract exemplifies that commitment and we applaud GDI’s achievement in establishing itself as a world-class Qatari drilling company."

Steve Kelly President and General Manager of OPQL said: "Oxy Qatar has established a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with GDI over the past several years and our commitment to this third rig for a five-year period demonstrates our confidence in GDI’s ability to continue to support our development plans with an emphasis on safe and efficient operations."

GDI’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ibrahim J. Al Othman said:"We are pleased to supply a 3rd rig that will form an integral part of OPQL’s development plans. We have worked hard to gain the confidence of this valued client, and that is reflected by their request for additional rigs. Our mutual success is a glowing tribute to the strong relationship we have formed and we look forward to even greater achievements coming from this partnership in the future."

In March 2013, Gulf Drilling International has signed a QR276 mn contract with Occidental Petroleum of Qatar to provide drilling services with the continued use of the Al Rayyan rig. The cumulative value of the three (3) GDI rigs now under contract to Oxy stands at QR1.3 billion. This significant commitment on part of OPQL will ensure a long and prosperous relationship with GDI.

GDI’s recently acquired 8th jack-up rig is designed to accommodate 116 people and operate in water depths of up to 300 feet with a rated drilling depth of 25,000 feet. The rig will be fully refurbished prior to placing it into service.

Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, Chief Executive Officer of GDI, expressed his deep appreciation to H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, for his continued support to GDI in achieving the development goals which have been set by its board of directors.

Increased demand on GDI’s services has helped the company to achieve rapid growth. GDI’s rig fleet has doubled in 3 years, grown from nine (9) rigs in 2011 to 18 rigs by 2014. It is expected that the company’s revenues will significantly increase upon commissioning of the new assets.