ADES, a firm that extends oil and gas drilling and production services, agreed to acquire Emerald Driller, a jackup rig, from Vantage Drilling, an offshore drilling contractor, for $170m. “We are very pleased to have entered into a new global strategic alliance agreement with ADES, leveraging our history of collaboration in Egypt and expanding it to the Qatari operations. The new transaction will strengthen our balance sheet and will provide Vantage with important financial flexibility. The sale of this business does not end our involvement in Qatar with these rigs as we will continue to support the operations of the three rigs for three years. The support services agreement is a testament to the confidence that ADES places in the Vantage management platform as a springboard for ADES’ international expansion. We are excited to continue to leverage our management platform to bring first-class operational performance and efficiency to our clients and partners," Ihab Toma, Vantage CEO.