Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom

Name: Exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom
Creator: RevenueBase
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Compiled by the RevenueBase Data Team Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026 198 companies tracked

RevenueBase identified 198 exploration drilling companies headquartered in the United Kingdom as of September 2026 and tracks 19,360 professional contacts across them, including 2,135 with verified work emails. London is the largest hub.

This list covers exploration drilling companies headquartered in the United Kingdom, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 20, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 20, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review

198Companies

19,360Contacts tracked

2,135Verified emails

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The 25 largest exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom

Ranked by team size

Top 25 of 198 exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to exploration drilling companies: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#	Company	RevenueBase Smart Search	Headquarters	Employees	Contacts
1	Ensco PLC	Indirect evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	5,001-10,000	2,679 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “We Are Valaris With decades of expertise and strategic commitment built on efficiency, capability and ingenuity, our sights are continually set toward a future built with purpose…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
2	Odfjell Drilling	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,864 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Odfjell Drilling is an international drilling company with around 1,500 employees with operations around the world.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
3	Borr Drilling	Partial evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,699 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Borr Drilling Limited is an offshore shallow-water drilling contractor providing worldwide offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
4	Cairn Energy PLC	Partial evidence	Edinburgh, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	201-500	927 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Cairn Energy PLC ('Cairn') is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
5	Dolphin Drilling	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	201-500	694 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Dolphin Drilling is the offshore drilling pioneer of the past and for the future.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
6	Northern Petroleum PLC	Partial evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	n/a	314 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Northern Petroleum is an oil and gas exploration and production company quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
7	Awilco Drilling	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	88 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Awilco Drilling Limited was incorporated in December 2009 in connection with the acquisition of the two semi submersible drilling rigs, WilPhoenix (previously Arctic II) and…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
8	Ophir-Energy	Partial evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	201-500	79 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Ophir Energy plc (Ophir) is an independent upstream oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Africa and Asia.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
9	HRH Geology	Indirect evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	73 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “HRH Geology is the Oil and Gas Industry's leading provider of Operational Geology solutions.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
10	RDS	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	70 contacts →
	Partial evidence “RDS is an engineering specialist working for oil and gas companies and major topsides and drilling contractors.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
11	ADC Energy LTD	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	11-50	62 contacts →
	Partial evidence “ADC Energy Ltd.(formerly Aberdeen Drilling Consultants) is an international, family owned company with a worldwide reputation, gained by providing the highest standard of Rig…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
12	Saltire Energy Group	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	51 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Established in 1986, Saltire Energy Group supplies high-quality drilling equipment to the global oil and gas industry from its headquarters in Aberdeen and seven bases around the…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
13	Rigquip	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	37 contacts →
	Partial evidence “At RigQuip, we’re not just drilling equipment experts-we’re your strategic partner in energy asset performance.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
14	Gorevega	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	37 contacts →
	Partial evidence “GoreVega supports the global oil and gas industry by providing valuable technical expertise for operators and service companies at each stage of a well’s lifecycle, from drilling…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
15	Dando Drilling International	Strong evidence	Arundel, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	29 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Dando Drilling International has over 150 years experience of supplying drilling rigs and equipment for the water well, mineral exploration, geotechnical & geothermal sectors.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
16	Heritage OIL Limited	Partial evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	201-500	26 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Heritage Oil Limited is an independent and privately owned oil & gas exploration and operating company” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
17	NEW AGE African Global Energy Limited	Indirect evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	25 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “New Age (African Global Energy) Limited is a privately held oil and gas company with a portfolio of quality assets in seven countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, a highly…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
18	ADS Drilling	Partial evidence	Newton Abbot, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	11-50	22 contacts →
	Partial evidence “ADS Drilling are a drilling contractor with over 35 years in the drilling and site investigation industry.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
19	Drilcorp	Partial evidence	Seaham, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	11-50	21 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Drilcorp was established in 1992 and since then has developed into one of the UK’s top drilling companies.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
20	Performance Energy LTD	Indirect evidence	Southampton, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1-10	18 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “About: Who is Performance Energy?” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
21	Corcel PLC	Indirect evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1-10	18 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Corcel is an independent upstream oil and gas company focused on emerging opportunities across Africa and LATAM.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
22	Islay Subsurface & Engineering LTD	Indirect evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1-10	17 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Islay Subsurface & Engineering Ltd was founded in 2010 by Iain Whyte to provide support to oil and gas operators, and their partners.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
23	Ardyne Technologies	Indirect evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	51-200	16 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Ardyne develops and supplies specialised technology and services to the global energy industry, focusing on reducing rig time spent on downhole casing removal in slot recovery /…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
24	Impact OIL & GAS	Strong evidence	Uk, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	11-50	16 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Impact is a frontier exploration company with early-stage, deep water prospective hydrocarbon plays that are of sufficient size to attract Oil Majors as partners ahead of drilling.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
25	Zerdalab	Partial evidence	Aberdeen, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	11-50	14 contacts →
	Partial evidence “ZerdaLab is an engineering and specialised software development company for drilling industry.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026

RevenueBase Smart Search

RevenueBase Smart Search assesses information from a company’s LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website, and other publicly available sources. It uses that information to rate how closely the company relates to this list’s category: exploration drilling companies. Every row carries its rating and the description the rating was read from, so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.

Strong evidence: The company's own public description of its business names exploration drilling companies.
Partial evidence: Its own public description names part of exploration drilling companies, so it works in or next to the category without describing itself that way.
Indirect evidence: The description shown does not name exploration drilling companies. The match rests on the rest of the company's public profile rather than the one sentence quoted here, so this is the rating to check first.

RevenueBase Smart Search is how these lists are built: RevenueBase's data engine and AI assemble the companies that match a category defined in a user's own words, so a list can be about what companies actually do rather than about whichever industry code they were filed under.

Showing 25 of 198 exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom

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Exploration drilling companies based in the United Kingdom at a glance

As of Sep 20, 2026

11.0%Verified-email coverage

97.8Average contacts per company

11-50Median size (employees)

25.3%Largest-city concentration · London

Sep 20, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10

11-50

51-200

201-500

501-1,000

1,001-5,000

5,001-10,000

Email recency for this list is measured worldwide rather than for United Kingdom, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for United Kingdom, over 198 companies.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among exploration drilling companies, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source: The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies: Companies headquartered in the United Kingdom whose own description of what they do matches “exploration drilling companies”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search: RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names exploration drilling companies), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude: Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among exploration drilling companies, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside United Kingdom are excluded even when they keep an office there.
Match quality: In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking: Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification: Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 2,135 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh: This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 20, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections: Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Exploration drilling companies by metro

Exploration drilling companies in London50
Exploration drilling companies in Aberdeen29

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names exploration drilling companies, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many exploration drilling companies are there based in the United Kingdom?

RevenueBase identified 198 exploration drilling companies headquartered in the United Kingdom as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Ensco PLC, headquartered in London, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which city has the most exploration drilling companies?

London leads with 50 headquartered companies, followed by Aberdeen (29) and Manchester (4).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 2,135 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 198 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 20, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.