Noble bags two-year extension from Shell, stacks two semi-subs

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has received a two-year contract extension for a jack-up drilling rig, stacked two semi-subs, and reduced dayrates for two drillships. 

In its latest fleet status report, Noble said that the contract for the jack-up drilling rig Noble Hans Deul was extended by Shell from early August 2016 until early August 2018. The rig is operating offshore UK with a dayrate of $88,660.

According to Noble, the client has the right to early terminate the contract for convenience subject to a notice period and, in some circumstances, a retroactive dayrate adjustment.

The rig, of a Friede & Goldman JU-2000E design, was built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Cooperation in 2009. It is capable of operating in up to 400 feet of water and with a maximum drilling depth of 30,000 feet.

The offshore driller further reported that the dayrates for two of its 2014-built drillships under contracts with Freeport-McMoRan in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were slashed. Noble explained that the dayrate adjustment was due to decline in operating costs corresponding to the reduction in crewing levels as requested by Freeport-McMoRan.

Namely, the dayrate for the drillship Noble Tom Madden was cut from $637,000 to $635,000, and the dayrate for the drillship Noble Sam Croft was slashed from $643,000 to $641,000.

Noble’s semi-submersible drilling rig Noble Danny Adkins, built in 1999 and upgraded in 2009, was warm stacked. The rig’s contract with Talos in the Gulf of Mexico, with a $206,000 dayrate, expired in March 2016.

Further, the 1982-built semi-submersible rig Noble Amos Runner was cold stacked after its contract with LLOG in the Gulf of Mexico expired in February 2016.

In addition, the 2013-built jack-up rig Noble Mick O’Brien is expected to complete acceptance testing in April and start contract with an undisclosed client in the UAE in May 2016.

Furthermore, the dayrates for Noble’s three drillships, Noble Don Taylor, Noble Bully I, and Noble Globetrotter I, working for Shell in the Gulf of Mexico were adjusted due to decline in operating costs corresponding to the reduction in crewing levels as requested by Shell. The rigs are now operating under dayrates of $475,000, $491,000, and $436,000, respectively.

Offshore Energy Today Staff