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NABORS' MIDEAST RIG FLEET GROWS BY 150% IN 1991

Feb. 24, 1992

Nabors Industries Inc., Houston, has increased its Middle East rig fleet to 20 from eight at the beginning of 1991. That follows the trend of exploration and development capital spending by North American operating companies away from North America. Nabors said while its current fleet of 63 land rigs in Canada and the U.S. Lower 48 have remained modestly profitable despite adverse market conditions, more than 90% of its operating and net profit flows from international and Alaskan operations.

Nabors Industries Inc., Houston, has increased its Middle East rig fleet to 20 from eight at the beginning of 1991.

That follows the trend of exploration and development capital spending by North American operating companies away from North America.

Nabors said while its current fleet of 63 land rigs in Canada and the U.S. Lower 48 have remained modestly profitable despite adverse market conditions, more than 90% of its operating and net profit flows from international and Alaskan operations.

The company recently received a long term geothermal contract for two land rigs in Costa Rica.

Those rigs leaving the U.S. market bring to 16 the number of Nabors land rigs that have been moved from North America to the Middle East, South America, Central America, and the Far East.

Earlier this year Nabors acquired three rigs deployed in Syria, Malaysia, and Thailand from Noble Drilling Corp., Houston (OGJ, Jan. 20, p. 22).

The rig in Syria remains under contract, and the rig working in Malaysia soon will be shipped to Yemen for work on a new contract. The rig in Thailand recently finished a 2 year contract and has been bid for more work there and in other markets outside North America.