Westwood Insight – Land rig revenues reveal diverging fortunes for North America and Middle East in Oil & Companies News 08/04/2026 North American domiciled contractors dominate All major public land rig contractors have now reported their 2025 financial results, with 4Q 2025 revenue averaging $3.54bn, up 1% quarteronquarter and in line with the 2025 average. Fullyear revenue totalled $14bn, down 3% yearonyear and marking the first annual decline since 2020, reflecting a year in which oil prices averaged $69, down from $81 in 2024. The weaker price environment constrained international revenue growth, leading to a decline in North American revenue. Of the six land rig contractors which recorded over $1bn revenue in 2025, five are American-domiciled companies. Helmerich & Payne (H&P) leads the group, having topped quarterly revenue tables since 4Q 2022. Its acquisition of KCA Deutag, completed in January 2025, pushed its 2025 revenue to $3.3bn, 25% higher than 2024, and expanded its international fleet from 27 rigs in September 2024 to 131 a year later. The deal was driven largely by H&P’s ambition to deepen its presence in the Middle East, where it now operates 77 rigs, or 59% of its international portfolio. Nabors, in second place, undertook a smaller expansion with its March 2025 purchase of Parker Wellbore. The acquisition lifted its average quarterly revenue to $653mn across 2Q–4Q 2025, up from $617mn between 1Q 2024 and 1Q 2025. Both H&P and Nabors have used these deals to broaden their international exposure during a period of weakened oil prices and operator efficiency drives, both of which weigh heavily on the core North American market. ADNOC Drilling is the only nonNorth American firm among the top six. It has held third place since 2Q 2024, with an average quarterly revenue of $498mn. Strong utilisation across the UAE has underpinned this performance, supported by the company’s role in Turnwell Industries, a joint venture set up to advance unconventional development. Revenue has climbed from $1bn in 2019 to $2bn in 2025 – a 102% increase and well ahead of any North American-based rival. ADNOC Drilling also made a series of high-profile moves in 2025, including buying a 70% stake in SLB’s Oman and Kuwait rig fleets in May 2025, as well as a similar deal with MB Petroleum Services in Oman in late 2025. This, along with a contract to begin drilling operations in Jordan, highlights the company’s goal of expanding further and becoming a regional powerhouse. Diverging US & Middle Eastern contracting markets With 2025 oil prices 14% below 2024 levels, the difference between the regions was laid bare: North America remains beholden to shortterm price swings, while the Middle East, especially the core Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are anchored by longterm contracts. As Figure 3 shows, North American revenue remains closely tied to oil prices, with changes in commodity prices generally feeding through to contractor earnings after a lag of approximately six months. The most recent US revenue peak in 1Q 2023 followed the oilprice high of $114 in 2Q 2022. As prices have fallen, the pattern has persisted: by 4Q 2025, North American revenue slipped to $1.2bn, 26% below its peak, broadly mirroring the 33% drop in oil prices over the same period. The Middle East, by contrast, has moved in the opposite direction, with revenue rising 31% between 1Q 2023 and 4Q 2025. Taken together, the data