About us

ANEDM, a 100% Saudi owned enterprise with its inception in 2020 is one of Saudi Arabia’s leading Bentonite processing companies. With its most modern and state of art manufacturing facility located in Dammam, the plant has grinding capacity focused on delivering 100,000 tons per annum of highest quality Bentonite of API/OCMA specifications.

ANEDM thrives to work with our customers to provide the best products to meet their specific requirement. Our employees are focused on quality and continually look for new and innovative solutions to customers' needs.

The plant meets and exceeds highest manufacturing and safety standards and is manned by experts in the industry. ANEDM grinds, processes bentonite for the oil and gas industry with maximum precision and economic efficiency.

The mineral bentonite can be found all over the world. It is formed from weathering volcanic ash. Bentonite is a mixture of various clay minerals. It consists of 60-80% of montmorillonite. Further accompanying minerals can include quartz, mica, feldspar, pyrite or also calcite.

Bentonites unique properties are noteworthily when stirred into water, as it demonstrates a so-called thixotropic reaction. It reacts as a fluid when mechanically stressed, i.e. shaken or stirred. However, it hardens in quiescent condition because its viscosity increases.

The most common use of bentonite is in drilling fluids. The bentonite in the flush fluid lubricates and cools the cutting tools while acting as anticorrosion agent. As the drilling fluid generates hydrostatic pressure in the borehole, it hinders fluid and gas penetration.

Although these drilling fluids are also used for simple drilling such as wells, their true potential is only demonstrated for demanding tasks such as drilling for oil and natural gas sources and exploration on drilling platforms.

The drilling liquid conveys the drill cuttings to the surface. When the purge pumps have idle periods, the thixotrophy of the bentonite hinders the stone material from dropping back into the drilled shaft.

As a flush fluid, bentonite seals the drilled shaft from water ingress downwards and at the sides of the shaft. The mineral forms a firm sludge cake on the bore wall which provides the borehole with additional stability. The fine bentonite particles enter into the bore wall, swell and harden. Depending on the constitution of the ground structure, fine and coarse particles are needed.

The requirements of the bentonite particles are not unusual, but nonetheless critical. API 13A “Specification for Drilling Materials” precisely regulates the technical data for the bentonite in the drilling fluid.

ANEDM also produces Bentonite for other Industrial applications.