Advanced Energy Systems (ADES Group)

Making an advance

“ADES Group was first established in 1997 as an offshore drilling company in Egypt and has since grown to become a Middle Eastern conglomerate having consolidated all upstream services both onshore and offshore in the oil and gas sector through its main subsidiaries: ADES, AMAK DPS and ECDC,” begins the company’s Vice President Offshore, Mohamed Khalil. “The Group currently employs over 1200 qualified employees and our rigs have performed drilling operations in over 2000 wells. Because of this expansive range of operations we are considered to be the second largest operator in Egypt.”

In providing fully integrated solutions to both the onshore and offshore industries, ADES Group complies with the highest industry safety standards whilst offering competitive prices through its harmonised subsidiaries. At present the company is in operation in Egypt, Algeria, and most recently, Saudi Arabia, with nine drilling and work-over onshore rigs ranging from 475hp to 2000hp, as well as a full suite of well services equipment.

Over its history the company’s onshore rigs have performed drilling operations on over 652 wells, and work-over operations on 1029. In terms of its offshore activities, its fleet so far includes five jack-up rigs and one MOPU. In this sector, ADES has delivered in excess of 20 offshore drilling and work-over operations in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, making it one of the largest offshore service companies in Egypt.

“The strength of our offering to the market is founded on six key values,” Mohamed outlines. “The first is safety; personal safety and employee health is our greatest responsibility, but this also encompasses the protection of our environment, our company property and our customer’s property. Secondly, we make sure we act with integrity in everything we do, ensuring that our individual and corporate actions are bound by honesty and ethical conduct. This leads on to our customer focus, which places the customer and the need to add value to that customer at the centre of every decision. We then make sure to support this with our performance, providing a level of service that exceeds the expectations of our customers whilst also demonstrating an environmental consciousness.

“In addition to this we make sure we can provide the best and most up-to-date service to the market. Our agility as a business means that we are alert to changes and are able to move quickly and decisively to meet all challenges that emerge from such changes. We aim to keep on top of this by promoting an innovative culture and attitude, and applying creative thinking to everything we do.”

With such a strong foundation supporting it, ADES has earned itself a standing reputation with some of the world’s biggest oil and gas operators including BP, ENI, GPC and Gupco in its domestic market, and SH-FCP, GSA, SONATRACH and ENI spa internationally. “We also operate a MOPU platform for one of the NOCs, Petrozenima, as the first model in the market,” Mohamed highlights. “This was planned in 2015 and it is currently in place and operating as a state-of-the-art solution in the Egyptian market to help unlock marginal fields.”

In the face of the global oil price downturn, the market conditions for ADES Group are unsurprisingly challenging in line with the rest of the industry. However, Mohamed is confident that the sector will begin to strengthen by the first quarter of 2017, and following the recent acquisition of a new jack-up rig in January as a speculation for the Egyptian market’s growth and its potential expansion opportunities, it is clear that the group is positive about the future.

“Over the coming months we will continue focusing on improving the performance of our services whilst maintaining a clean safety record and fleet utilisation,” Mohammed comments in conclusion. “As for the longer term strategic vision, ADES Group is committed to obtaining the best market share in Egypt and MENA. We believe that we can continue our role as the main market player in a way that supports the Egyptian economy, that helps in solving the new energy demand challenges and to move with more confident steps towards new operational domains.”

The Group’s mission statement lays out its vision to deliver well engineered, construction, managed and integrated operations and services to its entire customer base. However, it is not only ADES’s commitment to providing an excellent service that sets it apart as a successful operator in the market, but also its dedicated focus on health and safety, employee opportunities and community engagement. By upholding these values as it continues to expand its operations and fleet of assets, the company is well on its way to becoming a leading player in Egypt and the Middle East.

Advanced Energy Systems (ADES Group)

Services: One of Egypt’s largest energy operators