On October 8, 2026, according to the official website of PetroChina, Great Wall Drilling Oman Branch received a five-year service project award letter from MEDCO Medco for two drilling rigs, with a contract amount exceeding 100 million US dollars. In this bidding, Great Wall Drilling, equipped with core drilling and completion equipment such as domestic top drive and iron drillers, won the Oman high-end oil service project with a complete set of Chinese oil service solutions, marking an important breakthrough in the high-end Gulf market for domestic drilling and completion equipment. This is the award letter stage, and the formal contract has not yet been signed. The project is a 5-year service contract, and there is uncertainty in its actual implementation due to factors such as international oil prices, Oman's localization policies, and equipment maintenance.

MEDCO owns high-end oil fields in Oman

MEDCO is the operator of KSF satellite oil field operations under PDO, a recognized high-end oil service market player in Oman. Since operating the KSF oilfield in 2006, PDO extended its service agreement for 25 years until 2040 in 2015. Over the past 20 years, MEDCO has produced more than 110 million barrels of oil and drilled over 500 wells in KSF. There have been no incidents of lost working hours for 6 consecutive years, and the cumulative safe working hours have exceeded 13 million hours. This bidding has attracted competition from multiple top oil service companies both domestically and internationally. Since learning of MEDCO's launch of drilling rig market research in September 2022, Great Wall Drilling has continued to conduct multiple rounds of technical exchanges, promoting an integrated Chinese solution of modular quick moving drilling rigs, high standard HSE management systems, and mature drilling services. During the project clarification phase, the team fully demonstrated their performance and operational data in the GCC region, clearing key obstacles before awarding the contract.

Domestic top drive undergoes high-temperature verification

The biggest highlight of this bid is the practical application of domestically produced core drilling and completion equipment. In the bidding proposal, Great Wall Drilling provided domestic top drive and iron drillers to showcase the equipment's technical performance and overseas combat achievements to the first party, helping Chinese manufacturing enter the high-end oil service track in the Gulf. This time, domestic equipment was selected for bidding, and the project has not been put into operation on site. The domestically produced top drive has completed long-term operational verification under extreme high temperature conditions in Oman. The highest temperature in summer in Oman can reach 58 degrees Celsius. The GW110 drilling team of Great Wall Drilling has completed the disassembly, inspection, and repair of vulnerable parts of the top drive under high temperature, and has received written recognition from Party A; GW67 team has addressed the heat dissipation problem in the electric control room under high temperature conditions by retrofitting the top drive air conditioning outdoor unit to solve the pain points of equipment operation under high temperature conditions. In the field of automated drilling rigs, Great Wall Drilling has formed mature technological reserves. The self-developed vehicle mounted super single drilling rig integrates top drive, iron driller, power catwalk and other automation components to improve operational efficiency and environmental adaptability. At present, Great Wall Drilling's overseas business covers 22 countries and has exported a total of 100 drilling and repair machines of various types. Keywords: Middle East News Network, Oilfield Equipment, International

Oman's oil service market enters a period of high activity

The activity level of Oman's oil service market continues to rise. Great Wall Drilling's Oman business began in May 2006 with the PDO drilling general contracting project, delivering over 100 wells to PDO in total; Previously won the Oman heavy oil thermal recovery service contract and obtained the MEDCO award letter. In May 2026, China Petroleum Organization's Great Wall Drilling, Oriental Geophysical Exploration, Gemstone Machinery and other units collectively showcased their full industry chain capabilities in exploration and development, engineering services, and equipment manufacturing at the Oman Petroleum Energy Exhibition. The theme of this exhibition is cooperation and win-win, co creating a sustainable energy future, attracting nearly 300 enterprises from 25 countries to participate. PetroChina also showcased its integrated heavy oil solution and steam injection boiler model, and conducted technical exchanges with local universities. Domestic oil service equipment is shifting from being replaceable to having the main competitive ability in the high-end market of the Middle East. Great Wall Drilling is equipped with domestic top drive and iron drillers, and has successfully won the bid for the MEDCO project on the same stage as international oil service giants, proving that domestic drilling and completion equipment has the strength to compete in high-end projects in the Gulf. For small and medium-sized enterprises in the oil service equipment industry such as top drive, iron drillers, and power catwalks, relying on the existing Middle East performance of top domestic general contractors and entering their supplier system is a feasible path to enter the high-end oil service market in Oman.Editor/Gao Xue