Saudi vehicle ADES Holding Co. has secured a contract for the jack-up Shelf Drilling Victory in Nigeria from Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (SEPNU), a subsidiary of Seplat Energy, Africa’s largest homegrown E&P operator.
The contract is for a firm period of two years, “with two unpriced optional extension periods of one year each”, ADES says in a release.
“The total contract value for the firm period only including mobilization and demobilization fees is approximately $92.7Million, inclusive of ADES’ in-country partner’s share”, the company explained.
Seplat has reported, in its 2025 annual report, plans that SEPNU will drill three wells in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 67, 70 & 104 in late 2026, but the ADES’ press release does not confirm where Shelf Victory will be deployed to.
SEPNU is the operator of NNPC-SEPNU Joint Venture, which runs OMLs 67 70 & 104.
“We will be drilling across the JV, in different fields into the nearest future (at least for the next 3-4 years)” SEPNU sources tell Africa Oil+Gas Report. “If you assume a rig can drill an average of 4-6 wells a year, you can do the maths on the number of wells to be drilled”.
ADES Holding officially completed its acquisition of Shelf Drilling, the Norwegian drilling firm, on November 25, 2025, through a cash merger that saw the company become a wholly-owned subsidiary. Since then it has doubled down on winning drilling contracts in Nigeria.
Coming after the recent contract signing with the Dangote owned West Africa Exploration & Production (WAEP), for three premium jackup rigs, the Seplat contract “reaffirms ADES’ conviction in Nigeria as a high-growth market for drilling and upstream activity — underpinned by rising energy demand, national production targets, and increased investment in offshore exploration and field development”, ADES said in the release.
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