Noble books further work for deepwater rig fleet
Noble Corp.'s drilling contracts backlog has risen to $7.5 billion, helped by various new awards so far this year with a combined value of about $565 million.
These have added about five rig years of new floater activity, the company said in a results update.
Recent day rates for Tier-1 drillship fixtures have risen to the low to mid $400,000s.
In this category, Beacon Offshore Energy exercised an option well for the Noble BlackRhino drillship in the US Gulf of Mexico. Drilling operations started earlier this month.
Planet One agreed to take the Noble Venturer drillship for one firm well at $430,000/d, expected to start in late 2026, and two unpriced option wells.
Noble also secured a one-well contract for the Noble Viking drillship offshore in Malaysia in direct continuation of an existing program.
Woodside awarded the Noble Deliverer semisub a five-well fixture offshore Australia, with options for up to two further wells. The contract should start by third-quarter 2027.
Finally, ExxonMobil has extended Noble Developer’s current contract to include another well at $375,000/d, and this is scheduled to start in early 2027.
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About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.