Noble sells jackup rigs to Borr Drilling and Ocean Oilfield Drilling
Noble Corp. has signed definitive agreements to sell six jackups—five rigs to Borr Drilling for $360 million and one rig to Ocean Oilfield Drilling for $64 million.
Upon closing of these two separate transactions, Noble says it will be a pureplay deepwater and ultra-harsh environment jackup operator.
Borr will be purchasing the Noble Tom Prosser, Noble Mick O'Brien, Noble Regina Allen, Noble Resilient and Noble Resolute. The transaction is scheduled to close in early 2026, subject to Borr's successful financing.
Additionally, Noble intends to operate two rigs, Noble Mick O'Brien (currently in Qatar) and Noble Resolute (currently in the Netherlands), under a bareboat charter agreement with Borr for one year from signing of the definitive agreement.
The other agreement entails the sale of the Noble Resolve rig to Ocean Oilfield Drilling. The transaction is scheduled to close in second-quarter 2026, upon conclusion of the Noble Resolve's current contract. The rig is currently in Spain.
According to Noble's latest quarterly results update, the sales of the Noble Highlander jackup and Pacific Meltem drillship closed in the third quarter, generating combined net proceeds of $87 million. In addition, the Noble Reacher rig was sold in October for $27.5 million. As of Oct. 27, the Noble Globetrotter II drillship remains held for sale.
Pilot program kicks off on Noble drillship
Last month, Noble launched of a pilot program aboard the Noble Sam Croft drillship, via a technology frame agreement with Kongsberg Maritime.
The technology is designed to provide crews with real-time insights, reduce emissions and maintenance costs, and improve well connection efficiency.
The pilot includes enhanced green DP, an upgraded riser management system, new calibration tools, full RMS-DP integration, an eWSOG electronic decision support tool, and the EcoAdvisor advisory system.
The partners have conducted crew training, stakeholder engagement and offshore sea trials to ensure the system is ready for real-world operations.
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With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.
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Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
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