Iceland Drilling Company was founded at the beginning of 1986. The purpose of its foundation was to maintain and enhance within the company the powerful knowledge and skills in the field of onshore drilling which had been accomplished over the past years in Iceland. The origins of IDC date back to 1945 when its predecessor, the State Drilling Contractors (SDC), was established. At the very beginning, it was considered important to guarantee high quality drilling services in Iceland, especially when considering the importance of geothermal energy for the Icelandic economy.

Increased Efficiency through Privatization

Upon being founded, Iceland Drilling took over all the operations of the State Drilling contractors and the company owned by the State and City of Reykjavik. The owners of the new corporation, i.e. the State Treasury and the City of Reykjavík, owned between them half of the share capital. In 1992 the share capital of Iceland Drilling was offered up for general tender to try for a more distributed ID ownership.

The establishment of Iceland Drilling enabled the decrease of costs and a new company strategy in line with that of privately owned contractors was adopted. The vast experience, inventories and know-how, gained over almost five decades of operation in Iceland have furthermore been preserved and continuity maintained.

Dominant Market Share in Iceland

Iceland Drilling has gained a dominant share in the Icelandic market through years of successful work for the country´s major power companies. These clients include Landsvirkjun (The National Power Company), HS-Orka and ON (Orka Nátturunnar).

International Projects

The company´s first operation outside Iceland was a drilling project in the Faeroe Islands in 1981. The second overseas project took place in England in 1991. In 1992, Iceland Drilling started a new drilling project in the Azores Islands (Portugal).  Since then the company has operated in the Azores, both on San Miguel and Terceira Islands.

Early in 1998, Iceland Drilling took part in drilling project tenders in England and in Ireland, followed by signing a drilling contract with Lisheen Mine Partnership in Ireland. Subsequently, Iceland Drilling established the subsidiary, Iceland Drilling (UK) Ltd., in June 1998.  Among other contracts in Europe, Iceland Drilling UK has undertaken high temperature geothermal drilling in the Azores Islands for electricity generation purposes. The company started geothermal drilling in the Azores Islands in 1999, following the establishment of Iceland Drilling LDA, a subsidiary in Portugal in 2006.

Eurothermal Kft. was established in Hungary in 2004. The purpose of the company was to take advantage of the opportunities connected with the exploitation of geothermal power in Hungary, as well as to stretch the operation into Eastern Europe.

Hekla Energy B.V.  was established in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Iceland Drilling Company.  The company have operated in various countries such as in Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland.