Contracts for the Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC)'s projects in Saudi Arabia have been renewed for the next three years, Salah Abdelkereem, head of the Egyptian Drilling Company, which is under the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), said. He explained that the company controls about 74% of the land and sea drilling market in Egypt as well as 35% of well repair activity. He said that his company is currently implementing a strategy to increase the volume of its drilling projects outside Egypt in Arab countries, adding that there are several opportunities to obtain new contracts for drilling work in a number of Arab countries, most notably Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman during the coming period. The company owns 40 land drilling equipment, of which six are operating in Saudi Arabia and four are offshore drilling equipment operating in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt. The company also operates three marine vessels on behalf of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). The company also owns 24 well repair equipment in Egypt. The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, which owns the EGPC, seeks to list the company on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) within the governmental initial public offerings programme, which will contribute to expanding its ownership base and providing additional financing. The company was established in 1976 as an Egyptian joint stock company between the EGPC and the AP Moller – Maersk of Denmark with a 50% stake each. In December last year, the EGPC purchased the 50% stake from the foreign partner for $100m, which gave it 100% ownership.
