New rigs from old
Ades chief executive Mohamed Farouk reveals his firm’s formula for offering oil companies rigs at lower-than-market rates
Every dark cloud, they say, has a silver lining. As the global oil industry languished after the post-2014 price collapse, one Egyptian oilfield services company was lucky enough to discover that proverbial precious-metal lining. Advanced Energy Systems (Ades) was well-placed to cash in on the misery that oil firms around the world were enduring. For the company's business model is to buy up and refurbish legacy rigs before leasing them at a low cost to oil and gas operators. "The oil-price crash affected us in a positive manner," Mohamed Farouk, Ades' chief executive, told Petroleum Economist. "We found a lot of good assets to acquire, that companies couldn't afford to keep." It was a favou
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices






