NMDC Energy Aramco contract: AED2.8bn offshore award

NMDC Energy has won three offshore projects worth AED2.8bn ($763m) from Saudi Aramco, the Abu Dhabi-listed contractor said in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Friday.

The NMDC Energy Aramco contract covers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on offshore facilities, with completion expected within 18 to 23 months, the company said. It did not name the projects or disclose individual values.

The letter of award adds to AED2.2bn ($599m) of new work NMDC Energy booked in the second quarter of 2026. The company reported a backlog of AED33.3bn (about $9.1bn) at the end of June, according to its half-year results.

A decade of offshore work for Aramco

NMDC Energy, formerly known as NPCC, has worked for Aramco under a long-term agreement signed in 2016 covering engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation, installation and pre-commissioning of offshore facilities in Saudi waters. In April 2025 the two sides extended the agreement for three years, with an option for a further three, according to the company.

The contractor also opened a fabrication yard at Ras Al Khair on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast in early 2025, giving it in-kingdom capacity that supports Aramco’s local content requirements. International projects made up 30% of its revenue in the first half of 2026, with UAE operations accounting for the remaining 70%.

Revenue growth but thinner margins

NMDC Energy’s first-half revenue rose 16% to AED9.5bn ($2.59bn) from AED8.2bn a year earlier, but net profit fell 57% to AED251m ($68.3m), according to figures reported by Zawya and the company. It held cash of AED3.3bn (about $898m) at the end of June.

Eng. Ahmed Salem Al Dhaheri, Chief Executive Officer of NMDC Energy, said at the time that “execution excellence” was carrying “a robust and expanding backlog” into the second half of the year.

NMDC Energy is a majority-owned subsidiary of NMDC Group, the Abu Dhabi marine and energy contractor. Its 2024 initial public offering raised AED3.22bn ($877m) and listed more than 1.15 billion shares on the ADX, The National reported.

NMDC Group itself reported first-half 2026 revenue of AED14.1bn ($3.84bn) and net profit of AED1.6bn ($436m) in July, which makes the energy unit the biggest contributor to group revenue by some distance.

Why the NMDC Energy Aramco contract matters

Aramco’s offshore programme remains a major source of work for Gulf contractors, as our regional news coverage has tracked through 2026. Its upstream capital expenditure rose 4.9% quarter on quarter to SAR38bn (about $10.1bn) in the second quarter of 2026, Zawya reported. Construction continues on the Zuluf crude increment, the Saudi company said in August. Oil & Gas Middle East, citing Upstream, reported on 23 October that Aramco had separately awarded at least five offshore maintenance and brownfield projects worth up to $2.5bn to two international contractors.

For UAE contractors, Saudi awards are becoming a larger share of growth as Abu Dhabi groups follow the kingdom’s spending. NMDC Energy’s Saudi push mirrors moves by other UAE companies, including developer Arada, which launched a Saudi unit with a SAR50bn land bank this week.

Shares in NMDC Energy last traded at AED2.55, down 1.16% on the day, Argaam data showed. The stock is up 2.38% over the past year.

What happens next

Investors will look for the NMDC Energy Aramco contract to appear in the order book when the company reports third-quarter results, and for signs that margins are recovering as the backlog converts into revenue. The 18-to-23-month schedule points to delivery of the three Aramco projects between April and September 2028.

Al Dhaheri told The National in 2025 that the company was also seeking work in Iraq, North Africa and Nigeria as it tries to lift the international share of its business beyond its home market and Saudi Arabia. The filing did not say whether the three new projects fall under the long-term agreement or were tendered separately.