Offshore staff
LONDON– Noble Corp. plc has exercised an option for the purchase of a second newbuild Gusto MSC CJ46 design jackup rig from the PaxOcean Group for $83.75 million.
Noble will pay $30.1 million of the $83.75 million purchase price in cash, with the remainder of the purchase price, or $53.6 million, to be seller-financed at a 4.25% interest rate paid in cash and 1.25% paid in kind over the term of the financing. The company will use existing cash balances for the initial payment and the secured seller-financed amount will be repaid in four years.
Like theNoble Johnny Whitstine, which it purchased in September 2018 in connection with a Saudi Aramco contract, the newbuild CJ46 design jackup, to be named the Noble Joe Knight, was built at the PaxOcean Graha shipyard in Batam, Indonesia.
The rig is built for operations in moderate drilling environments and can operate in water depths of up to 375 ft (114 m), with well depths of 30,000 ft (9,144 m). The rig features a modern drilling control system, along with a versatile cantilever skidding system and two BOPs.
Following closing of the transaction, which is expected this month, theNoble Joe Knight will be relocated to a shipyard in Singapore for commissioning and final outfitting ahead of the expected commencement of operations during 3Q 2019 under a three-year primary term contract, plus a one-year option, with Saudi Aramco.
Julie J. Robertson, chairman, president and CEO of Noble Corp. plc, said: “The CJ46 design is an ideal drilling unit for many applications in the Middle East and the exercise of the option is evidence of Noble’s customer-driven philosophy, including fit-for-purpose drilling solutions and superior operations execution. Both theNoble Joe Knight and Noble Johnny Whitstine are expected to serve our customer’s needs for many years to come.”
02/14/2019
