Demand strong for Noble floater drilling fleet, jackup prospects improving
Aug. 3, 2023
Noble's marketed fleet of 16 floating drilling rigs was 90% contracted through the second quarter, up from 91% in the prior quarter, the company said in its latest results statement.
The Noble Innovator jackup operates under the Danish flag.
Offshore staff
HOUSTON — Noble's marketed fleet of 16 floating drilling rigs was 90% contracted through the second quarter, up from 91% in the prior quarter, the company said in its latest results statement.
Day rates for working tier 1 drillships are currently in the mid to high-$400,000s.
Newly won contracts for the floater fleet total about $750 million in value (including mobilization fees) and include the following:
Courtesy Noble
The Noble Faye Kozack drillship operates under the Liberia flag.
Noble Faye Kozackwas: a 2.5-year contract with Petrobras is set to start early next year and valued at about $500 million including additional services.
Noble Voyager: one exploration well for Shell offshore Mauritania will be drilled in direct continuation of the rig’s current Shell contract offshore Colombia and likely to keep the rig occupied through year-end 2023.
Noble Discoverer: a one-well contract with Petronas offshore Suriname, with the 90-day program, is due to start shortly. Firm contract value is about $43 million.
Noble Viking: three option wells exercised by Shell have a combined value close to $49 million and a total duration of 111 days. The first of the wells should spud in December following the rig's Special Periodic Survey, with its firm backlog now extended into Q2 2025.
Noble Deliverer: a nine-month extension from Inpex offshore Australia is expected to continue from July 2024 to April 2025 at $451,500 per day.
As for the company’s 13 marketed jackups take-up was 59% in the second quarter, down from 67% in the first quarter, with Noble Tom Prosser, Noble Innovator and Noble Interceptor experiencing downturns in utilization.
However, commercial activity for the jackup fleet has now started to pick up. Harbour Energy recently awarded the warm-stacked Noble Intrepid a 10-month, $28.5-million contract with accommodation scope in the UK North Sea.
Last month Noble Tom Prosser started a long-term program offshore Malaysia in July, and Noble Regina Allen should be in a position to resume operations by mid-2024 on completion of repairs.
