On May 2004, Gulf Drilling International Limited (GDI) was established as the first onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling company in Qatar. GDI was formed as a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatars national oil corporation, and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (JDC). In July 2007, QP acquired 25% shares of JDC, raising its ownership in GDI to 70%. In February of 2008, all shares of QP were transferred to Gulf International Services, q.s.c. (GIS) which became a public shareholding company in May 2008 and is listed on the Doha Securities Market.

In May 2014 GIS acquired all remaining JDC shares in GDI to make it a 100% Qatari owned company. GDI celebrated its 10th Anniversary during the same month.

GDI has seen rapid growth in the past 10 years. GDIs rig fleet has grown to seventeen (17), and its workforce has increased to over 1600 employees including 120 Qatari Nationals. Its current fleet consists of nine (9) offshore jack-up drilling rigs, six (6) land rigs, one (1) liftboat and one (1) accommodation jack-up. In addition, GDI has a liftboat that it operates under a management agreement.