ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi-based oil and gas services contractor, National Petroleum Construction Company’s (NPCC) operating profit grew 27 percent in 2018, driven by business in Saudi Arabia, its chief executive said on Monday.

The majority state-owned firm made EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of 891 million dirhams ($243 million) in 2018 compared to 700 million dirhams in the prior year, Ahmed al-Dhaheri told Reuters. NPCC’s revenues totalled 5.3 billion dirhams in 2018, up 7 percent over 2017.

“The earnings were driven by contracts NPCC won in Saudi Arabia and one or two other markets,” Dhaheri said. NPCC won five projects from oil giant, Saudi Aramco in 2018 valued at $1.1 billion and a project from India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited ONGC.NS worth $330 million, he said, adding the company also made an entry into Kuwait. NPCC signed a long-term offshore agreement with Saudi Aramco in 2016 and has since won 10 projects worth 7.3 billion dirhams in the kingdom, he said.

The company is targeting revenues of 7 billion dirhams in 2019.

“We have ongoing projects and the backlog that will boost this year’s revenues,” Dhaheri said. NPCC, owned by Abu Dhabi’s General Holding Corp (Senaat), with an offshore fleet of 22 vessels is looking at expanding into new markets in Egypt and North Africa, he said.

(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho, editing by xxx) ((stanley.carvalho@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 6444431; Reuters Messaging: stanley.carvalho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))