UAE's NMDC wins 2.8 billion dirham offshore contract in Saudi Arabia

Summary

• NMDC Energy secured an offshore contract worth 2.8 billion dirhams in Saudi Arabia, its CEO said.
• International markets now generate roughly 22% of the Abu Dhabi-listed group's revenue, according to the company.
• The award underlines Gulf contractors pushing beyond home markets into neighboring and European territory.

The latest

An offshore contract valued at 2.8 billion dirhams in Saudi Arabia has gone to NMDC Energy, the unit of Abu Dhabi's NMDC Group, chief executive Yasser Zaghloul told Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of ADIPEC. He said international markets now account for about 22% of group revenue, as the company pursues expansion across sectors and geographies.

Details

• The contract: Zaghloul said NMDC Energy, the group's energy arm, won the offshore award in Saudi Arabia at a value of 2.8 billion dirhams. He did not identify the client, the project site, or the delivery timeline for the work.
• The revenue mix: International markets contribute close to 22% of NMDC Group's total revenue, according to the chief executive. He gave the figure as a current share rather than a target, and did not break down which countries or segments make up that portion.
• The company: NMDC Group is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange under the ticker NMDC. Zaghloul described it as among the world's largest firms in engineering, procurement and construction and in marine dredging, the combination the industry labels offshore EPC.
• The strategy: Expansion rests on two tracks, Zaghloul said: vertical diversification across activities and sectors, and horizontal growth into new geographies. The Saudi award and the share of foreign revenue were both presented as products of that approach rather than one-off wins.
• The Europe entry: The group has entered the European market for the first time through the water sector in Spain, Zaghloul said, via the acquisition of a company he named as Flantani Motor. He did not disclose the purchase price or the closing date.
• The water segment: The Spanish deal places NMDC in water infrastructure, a line of business distinct from the offshore energy construction and dredging work that anchors the group. The chief executive did not set out how large a share water is expected to hold in the portfolio.
• The venue: Zaghloul made the remarks to WAM on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, the ADIPEC gathering that draws national oil companies, contractors and service providers to the UAE capital.
• The Saudi angle: The award puts an Abu Dhabi state-linked contractor onto an offshore project inside Saudi Arabia, the region's largest hydrocarbon producer. The company did not say whether the contract is a first in the kingdom or an extension of existing work there.

Between the lines

Taken together, the three disclosures sketch one direction of travel: a Saudi offshore award, a Spanish water acquisition, and 22% of revenue earned outside the home market. Each is a step away from dependence on UAE projects alone, and each lands in a different sector or region, matching the vertical-and-horizontal framing the chief executive used.

What's next

Watch for NMDC Group's next financial disclosure to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange for the contract's revenue recognition, the international share's movement past 22%, and any detail on the Spanish water acquisition's terms.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)