Dubai International Financial Centre-based ADES International Holding, a leading provider of offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling and production services in the Middle East and Africa, has announced plans for global offer of its existing shares.

ADES intends to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) and to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. It is
expected that admission will occur in May 2017.

The company is planning to raise up to $170 million through the issue of new shares by the company. The selling shareholder will also offer for sale a separate number of sale shares (together, the Global Offer).

The group is a leading oil and gas drilling and production services provider in the Middle East and Africa, offering offshore and onshore contract drilling as well as workover and production services in Egypt, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Its clients include major national oil companies (NOCs) such as Saudi Aramco and Sonatrach as well as joint ventures of NOCs with global majors including BP and Eni.

While maintaining a superior health, safety and environmental (HSE) record, the group currently operates a
fleet of nine jack-up offshore drilling rigs, two onshore drilling rigs, a jack-up barge, and a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU), which includes a floating storage and offloading unit.

The Company has a diversified backlog that in December 2016 was divided among Saudi Arabia (48 per cent), Egypt (44 per cent of total backlog) and Algeria (8 per cent).

ADES is pre-qualified in markets including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, India, Mexico and the Saudi–Kuwaiti Neutral Zone. It has a workforce of nearly 1,300 employees.

Commenting on the prospective offering, ADES International Holding chief executive officer Dr Mohamed Farouk said: “We have capitalised on the challenging industry backdrop that has prevailed for much of the past three years, growing our fleet and enhancing our profitability by leveraging our low cost structure and focused business model. Oil has fallen from a high of $126 per barrel in 2012 to $57 per barrel at the end of last year, dipping below $30 per barrel in the interim.

"Our annual revenues have expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 34pc in the period 2014-16 as we have cost-effectively serviced a number of profitable contracts with a strong track record of renewals. Our backlog has grown at a CAGR of 107 per cent in the period 2014-16. We are a cost-effective business that helps high-profile E&P players onshore and in shallow waters offshore maximise the value of their oil and gas resources. This has allowed us to build a business that has proved largely resilient through cycles in the
oil market.”

ADES has a differentiated, low cost (capital and operational expenditure) business model. The company specializes in acquiring, reconditioning, deploying and operating legacy “fit-for-purpose” offshore assets, which it has generally acquired at very attractive prices, suited to the non-harsh, shallow-water environments in which its clients operate, it said. - TradeArabia News Service