Noble’s stacked rig finds new home in Vietnam

September 16, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Vietnam’s Petrovietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PV Drilling) has acquired a rig from an affiliate of U.S.-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation.

PV Drilling IX (formerly Noble Highlander); Source: Noble Corporation

Now that PV Drilling owns the 2016-built self-elevating drilling unit, the rig formerly known as the Noble Highlander rig will be renamed PV Drilling IX.

The transfer of ownership was marked with a handover ceremony between PV Drilling and Noble Highlander UK in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month. At the same time, the rig was handed over to PV Drilling‘s technical team in Denmark.

In August, Noble disclosed having entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Noble Highlander for $65 million, expecting the deal to close in Q3. The rig was previously stacked and is located in Denmark.

This unit is of Friede Goldman 2000E design, capable of maximum drilling depth up to 30,000 feet, or around 9,144 meters, and operating in water depths up to 425 feet, which is equivalent to 129.5 meters.

PV Drilling intends to reactivate the rig within one month. The unit will be mobilized from its location in Denmark to the PTSC Downstream Port in Ho Chi Minh City 50 or 60 days after its reactivation. Following this, its first contract with a client is set to start at the end of March 2026 or the beginning of April 2026.

This is the sixth jack-up rig in the Vietnamese player’s fleet, which also features one tender assist drilling rig. The company believes the fleet addition will boost its competitiveness in the international market.

Another rig from Noble’s fleet, Noble Intrepid, was cleared in August to drill wellbore 2/6-8 S in production license 1086 in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.