Noble signs LOI for new ultra deepwater semisubmersible
Offshore staff
SUGAR LAND, Texas -- Noble Corp. indirect subsidiary Noble Drilling Services Inc. has signed a letter of intent with a Marathon Oil Corp. subsidiary for the Noble Bingo 9000 Rig 4 semisubmersible hull for a two-year contract.
The semi, which will be renamed theNoble Jim Day, will be completed as a dynamically positioned (DPS-3) unit designed to operate in water depths to 3,658 m (12,000 ft) with accommodations for 200. The unit's operational design will follow that of the Noble Danny Adkins, under construction in Singapore.
The semisubmersible is in the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, where the company intends to complete the construction program. Noble expects the rig to be delivered in 4Q 2009.
The company expects that Marathon will use theNoble Jim Day in the US Gulf of Mexico during the initial two years of service of the unit.
"One of our goals for 2007 was to have a commitment on theNoble Bingo 9000 Rig 4 by the end of the first quarter. This achievement is especially meaningful, for it allows the employees to recognize Jim's contribution to Noble and the entire energy industry. It is only fitting that our most technologically advanced drilling unit will bear the name of a leading pioneer in our industry," says Mark A. Jackson, president and CEO.
3/13/2007