What Silver City Drilling does

Silver City Drilling Pty Ltd is an independently Australian-owned drilling contractor that provides water, mineral, and oil and gas drilling services across Australia and Indonesia. Founded in 2000 in Broken Hill, New South Wales, the company has expanded to a national footprint with bases in the Northern Territory (Alice Springs), South Australia (Balaklava, Two Wells, Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth/Malaga), Queensland (Moura, Dalby, Birdsville), and New South Wales (Port Macquarie), supported by fully equipped workshops and depots at each location. Its fleet comprises 13+ named drilling rigs spanning light to heavy-duty specifications (Schramm, Gallagher, KWL, Hydco, Ingersoll-Rand, Atlas Copco, IronTech, LeTourneau, NOV platforms) deployed across coal seam gas, well servicing, completions, mineral exploration, and groundwater applications. The company holds ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certifications, and has 100+ employees with over 50 years of combined mineral drilling experience.

The business operates on a professional services contract model, negotiating per-project drilling engagements with exploration and mining operators; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured by rig type, well depth, location, and project duration. Customer segments are split horizontally across water, mineral, and oil and gas, with the company describing itself as a leader in mineral exploration drilling in particular. In 2022, Silver City established PT Silver City Drilling (PT SCD) in Jakarta as a wholly-owned Indonesian subsidiary, obtaining SKKMIGAS and EBTKE contractor approvals to operate across oil, gas, and geothermal drilling in Indonesia. The subsidiary has secured its first major international contract with Lion Energy for the Bula Karang-1 exploration well in the East Seram PSC, with drilling scheduled to begin in July 2026. The company is privately held with no parent entity, no disclosed external institutional funding, and is 100% Australian-owned and operated.

Name

Silver City Drilling

Legal name

Silver City Drilling Pty Ltd

Website

https://silvercitydrilling.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Silver City Drilling is an Australian-owned drilling contractor operating a 13+ rig fleet across water, mineral, and oil and gas segments nationally and through a 2022-established Indonesian subsidiary, serving exploration and mining operators on a contract basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Drilling Services

NAICS

Drilling Oil and Gas Wells (213111), Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114), Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations (213112), Support Activities for Mining (21311)

SIC

Drilling Oil & Gas Wells (1381), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389), Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Exploration & Production Drilling Services (RC, Core, Directional, Sonic, Auger) (IMAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Well Construction & Completion Services (Cementing, Casing, Tubular Running) (EUALABAC), Mine Operations Contracting (Open-Pit & Underground Development, Production, Load/Haul) (IMAKAKAD)

Keywords

• Water bore drilling
• Mineral exploration drilling
• Oil and gas drilling
• Drilling contractor services
• Exploration rig services

Headquarters

HQ city

Alice Springs

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Drilling Services: Contract drilling services for water, oil, gas, and mineral exploration. Revenue generated through drilling contracts with exploration and mining companies, including both short-term well programs and longer-term drilling campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Silver City Drilling is an Australian privately owned drilling contractor providing water bore, mineral exploration, and oil & gas drilling services to mining, exploration, and resource clients across Australia and Indonesia. The company operates a fleet of 13+ drilling rigs and deploys crews to deliver contract drilling on client sites.

Product overview

Silver City Drilling is an independently Australian-owned drilling company operating a diverse fleet of specialized drilling rigs and providing comprehensive drilling services. The company operates 13 named drilling rigs including Schramm T130XD, Schramm T200XD, Schramm T500XD, Schramm 685W, Gallagher 660, KWL 1600, Hydco 1000, Ingersoll-Rand TH75E, Atlas Copco T3WDH, Atlas Copco RD 20 Range III, IronTech SR242 workover rig, LeTourneau AC Land Rig, and NOV Ideal Rig 1500HP AC. The core offering comprises four service lines: Water Drilling (groundwater solutions including domestic, irrigation, artesian, and monitoring bores), Mineral Drilling (mineral exploration and mining industry programs), Oil & Gas Drilling (CSG, well servicing, completions, maintenance, and abandonments), and Indonesian Operations through PT Silver City Drilling subsidiary. The company operates throughout Australia with bases in Alice Springs (head office), Balaklava, Perth, Moura, Birdsville, and Port Macquarie, plus an Indonesian office in Jakarta.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Bore Drilling

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lion EnergycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLion Energy contracted Silver City Drilling's SCD-20 rig to drill the Bula Karang-1 exploration well in Indonesia's East Seram Production Sharing Contract area. Drilling scheduled to begin July 2026. The well targets 12 million barrels P50 prospective resource with 38% geological chance of success. Lion Energy benefits from partner funding covering 88% of well costs despite holding 45% working interest.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Velesto Energy: Malaysia-based offshore and onshore drilling contractor operating jack-up rigs primarily in Southeast Asia. Regional peer with comparable Indonesia/SE Asian operational exposure, though focused on offshore drilling platforms rather than SCD's land rig model.
• Borr Drilling: International offshore shallow-water drilling contractor with global fleet but footprint in Southeast Asia. Provides a useful comparable on drilling market dynamics in regions overlapping with SCD's Indonesia expansion, though operating in a different segment (offshore jack-ups).

Direct peers

• Patterson-UTI Energy: Major US-based contract driller providing land-based drilling rigs and pressure pumping services to oil & gas operators. Comparable as a pure-play contract drilling services business reliant on upstream E&P activity.
• Boart Longyear: One of the world's largest drilling services companies for minerals and energy exploration, providing drilling consumables, equipment, and contract drilling. Most direct comparable as a global contract driller with operations in Australia and Indonesia targeting mining and energy exploration.
• Tiger Drilling: Australian-based drilling contractor offering services across mineral exploration, coal seam gas, and water bore sectors. Highly comparable in scale, service mix, and Australian regional focus.
• Easternwell (IMDEX Limited): Australian drilling services and minerals technology business serving mining and energy exploration customers across Australia and globally. Closely comparable as an Australian-listed drilling services peer with mineral exploration focus.

Broad incumbents

• Halliburton: One of the world's largest oilfield services providers with drilling and completions offerings alongside its dominant pressure pumping and digital franchises. Broad incumbent rather than direct competitor to SCD's regional model.
• Saipem: Global oilfield services and engineering company with drilling and well services alongside its broader EPC and offshore construction portfolio. Comparable as a peer in well services/construction across major E&P markets but operates at much larger scale.
• Schlumberger (SLB): Global oilfield services giant covering drilling, completions, and production services for upstream operators. Comparable only at the broadest service-overlap level given global scale versus SCD's mid-size, multi-segment drilling focus.
• Weatherford International: Global oilfield services and equipment company with drilling, evaluation, and production capabilities. Broad incumbent competing for larger contracts where SCD's service lines overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SilverCityDrillingNSWPtyLtd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silver-city-drilling

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silver City Drilling