Noble lands more semi-sub work but dayrate falls

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has received a contract extension for a semi-sub rig. However, the rig’s dayrate has been more than halved. 

According to the driller’s latest fleet status report on Thursday, the 1981-built semi-submersible rig Noble Paul Romano has received a one-well contract extension from Hess from mid-September until mid-December 2016.

The rig’s rate was slashed from $304,000 to $128,500. The Noble Paul Romano is operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The report further showed that options for the company’s 2011-built drillship Noble Bully I have lapsed. The rig is under a contract with the oil major Royal Dutch Shell in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

According to Noble, the rig experienced 16 days of operational downtime at zero dayrate for thruster repair in 3Q 2016, previously disclosed as +/‐20 days. The drillship’s contract expiration date is set for mid-March 2017.

Noble’s other 2011-built drillship also working for Shell in the Gulf of Mexico, the Noble Globetrotter I, experienced 21 days planned out‐of‐service period at zero dayrate for BSEE required BOP certification and five‐year special periodic survey. This work was planned for early 2017 but was accelerated to accommodate client schedule, the offshore driller explained.

The 2013-built jack-up rig Noble Regina Allen has been awarded an accommodation services contract from an undisclosed client for an undisclosed dayrate. The contract is in the UK and will last from mid-October 2016 until mid-April 2017. The contract also includes 3 x 30‐day priced options.

The 1980-built jack-up drilling rig Noble Alan Hay, working in the UAE for an undisclosed client, experienced 55 days of operational downtime at zero dayrate for regulatory inspection/maintenance in 3Q 2016, previously disclosed as +/‐60 days. The rig is under a contract until late December 2017.

Furthermore, Noble said that its newbuild jack-up rig Noble Lloyd Noble arrived in the United Kingdom on Thursday, September 15. The rig was built by Sembcorp Marine and delivered in July this year. It will be deployed at Statoil’s Mariner field development in the UK sector of the North Sea under a four-year charter arrangement.

In addition, the 1986-built semi-submersible rig Noble Dave Beard was cold stacked in Singapore.

Offshore Energy Today Staff