Precision Drilling Corporation is a Canadian onshore drilling contractor headquartered at Suite 800, 525-8th Avenue S.W. in Calgary, Alberta. Its common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PD and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PDS, and it reports in Canadian dollars. Carey Ford is president and chief executive officer. The company began in 1951 with a single rig, expanded into Mexico, Australia, Timor, New Guinea and Sumatra in the 1960s and 1970s before refocusing on western Canada, and has been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 1988.
Five service lines and two reporting segments
Precision organises its offer into North American Drilling, International Drilling, Well Servicing, Oilfield Equipment Rentals and Camp and Catering Services, and reports financial results through contract drilling and completion and production services. Its drilling fleet is built around AC-drive Super Series rigs, including the Super Triple and Super Single classes used for horizontal, multi-well pad and heavy oil work in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and US shale plays. Beyond Calgary the company lists a Houston office at 10350 Richmond Avenue, an Ahmadi office in Kuwait and a Dammam office in Saudi Arabia, alongside training and competency programmes delivered under its Target Zero framework.
Canadian heavy oil and US rig reactivations
In the second quarter of 2026 Precision averaged 61 active rigs in Canada, 22% more than the 50 rigs of a year earlier and ahead of a 16% rise in overall Canadian industry activity, with the strongest demand coming from the condensate and heavy oil basins. Canadian revenue per utilisation day slipped to $35,448 from $37,725, which the company attributed to lower upfront capital payments from customers and a higher proportion of Super Single rigs, whose utilisation rose 31% year on year on heavy oil work. In the United States the company averaged 35 rigs against 33 a year earlier while industry activity fell 3%, and revenue per utilisation day rose to US$32,802 from US$31,113 on better day rates and more technology revenue. The US rig count stood at 43 by late July 2026, and management targeted fourth-quarter margins approaching US$10,000 per utilisation day as reactivated rigs and scheduled upgrades came into service.
International drilling in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Precision ran seven rigs internationally during the second quarter, three in Saudi Arabia and four in Kuwait, compared with two and five respectively a year earlier. The change in rig mix, together with regional geopolitical tension, lowered international revenue per utilisation day to US$50,524 from US$53,129. During the quarter the company secured an additional five-year contract for an existing rig in Kuwait, which it said would lift its international rig count from seven to eight by mid-2027 once planned recertifications and upgrades are complete.
Well servicing and the Alpha technology platform
Well servicing rig operating hours rose 25% year on year on stronger customer demand and higher oil prices, and adjusted EBITDA for the completion and production services business increased 38%. Drilling technology is marketed under two brands: Alpha, which covers AlphaAutomation for rig-floor process control, AlphaApps for applications that run on that platform and AlphaAnalytics for performance measurement, and EverGreen, which covers work to reduce the emissions intensity of drilling operations. Management credited higher Alpha and EverGreen contributions, along with improved pricing, for part of the revenue increase, and highlighted automation as a differentiator in reducing downtime and improving drilling performance. The company also operates oilfield equipment rentals and camp and catering services for rig crews in remote locations.
Financial results, capital returns and safety
Second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 11% to $452.8 million from $406.6 million, although adjusted EBITDA fell 10% to $97.1 million from $108.1 million because of higher US rig reactivation costs and lower international margins, and the quarter included $3 million of one-time restructuring charges. A net loss attributable to shareholders of $1.2 million, against earnings of $16.3 million a year earlier, was driven mainly by an $11 million increase in depreciation following a change in useful life estimates. Cash provided by operations was $145.6 million; the company reduced debt by $50 million and repurchased $12 million of shares in the quarter, taking first-half debt reduction to $75 million and buybacks to $16 million. Capital expenditure was $76 million and is expected to total $265 million for 2026. Six-month revenue reached $978.9 million with adjusted EBITDA of $221.0 million. Sustainability and safety performance is reported in a separate ESG section, the safety vision is zero injuries, zero environmental incidents and zero motor vehicle accidents, and an independently operated ethics line handles conduct concerns; the company also renewed its normal course issuer bid during 2026.