U.S.-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation is fueling its fleet utilization uptick with multimillion-dollar drilling assignments off the coasts of Uruguay, Nigeria, Ghana, Peru, and Norway, enabling its total contract backlog to hit $6.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026.
With new contract wins of approximately $560 million awarded since the July fleet status report, Noble’s backlog as of October 26, 2026, stands at $6.7 billion, excluding mobilization and demobilization revenue.
The firm's fleet of 23 marketed floaters was 66% contracted during the third quarter compared with 64% in the prior quarter, while recent contract awards added around 44 months of new floater backlog, with leading edge day rates for Tier-1 drillships ranging between the mid-$400,000s and $500,000.
The utilization of Noble's five marketed ultra-harsh jack-ups was 86% in the third quarter versus 80% during the prior quarter, while latest contract awards brought approximately 26 months of new jack-up backlog, with leading edge day rates ranging between $230,000 and $300,000.
"The third quarter, which featured a 5% sequential decrease in adjusted EBITDA, marked the successful resumption of operations for both of our rigs in Brazil, but was also impacted by several other rigs across the fleet transitioning between contracts. On the commercial front, we have recently secured approximately $560 million in new contract awards, including a number of key programs that support a strengthening fleet utilization profile as we move through 2027. "
The 2014-built Noble BlackHawk drillship has secured one-well contract with Apache Corporation in Uruguay, which is expected to begin in Q4 2027, with an estimated duration of 50 days. This contract award of approximately $25 million excludes additional fees for mobilization and demobilization.
The 2014-built Noble BlackRhino drillship has landed a four-well deal with TotalEnergies in Nigeria, which is anticipated to start in Q4 2026, with an estimated duration of 150 days plus six priced option wells.
The 2013-built Noble Faye Kozack drillship has won a five-well assignment with Tullow Oil in Ghana, which is slated to commence in mid-2027, with an estimated duration of 250 days. This contract also comes with five priced option wells.
The 2011-built Noble Globetrotter I drillship has picked up a two-well contract with Oxy in Peru, which is scheduled to kick off in Q2 2027. Terms of the contract, which includes additional fees for mobilization and demobilization, are not disclosed.
Afterward, this rig is expected to embark on its contract with TotalEnergies in West Africa under a three-year capacity reservation agreement (CRA) for light well intervention services, providing a minimum commitment of 150 days per year, with first call-off service order set to start in Angola in Q3/Q4 2027.
The 2014-built Noble Interceptor jack-up rig has obtained a one-well contract with DNO in Norway, which is anticipated to begin in Q3 2027, with an estimated duration of 50-90 days.
As a result, the rig is expected to kick off, in direct continuation, a long-term plug and abandonment (P&A) scope for ConocoPhillips in Norway on the Ekofisk field, with an estimated duration of 670 days.
The 2014-built Noble Intrepid jack-up rig has been hired on a one-well assignment with Orlen in Norway, which is due to commence in Q3 2027, with an estimated duration of 40-60 days.
"Forward contract coverage and dayrate trends for both deepwater and ultra-harsh environment jack-ups continue to methodically improve, despite limited apparent demand tailwinds arising from higher oil prices during 2026 thus far. Noble's recent contract fixtures encompass a diversity of customers and regions, spanning frontier exploration to late-cycle well operations. We continue to build backlog that supports an expected meaningful inflection in fleet utilization and cash flow starting H2 2027, with already approximately 20% more contracted capacity in our fleet in H2 2027 compared to H1 2027."