Rigs

Noble, Shell ink $70M semisubmersible drilling rig contract

Feb. 6, 2025

Noble has secured a new contract with Shell in the Americas for the Noble Developer semisubmersible rig.

Related To: Noble

Noble has secured a new contract with Shell in the Americas for the Noble Developer semisubmersible rig, according to the company's Feb. 6 LinkedIn post.

The contract is for a fixed duration of 180 days and is expected to begin in third-quarter 2026. The firm contract value is about $70 million including mobilization and demobilization.

The Noble Developer has previously drilled for Shell in this region.

Noble and Petronas Suriname E&P B.V. entered into an agreement in early January for the same high-specification semisubmersible rig to drill three wells offshore Suriname. That contract is expected to begin around June. At the time, Noble had said the Noble Developer was currently available and located offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

Busy start to the year

The company hit the ground running this year, ramping up 2025 with several projects underway.

In the US Gulf of Mexico, the Noble Valiant drillship spud the Who Dat West exploration well MC 629-1 for LLOG in January. The location is 31 km west of the Who Dat floating production system in Mississippi Canyon lease 629 in 740 m water depth.

In addition, Noble Corp. reported last month that its Ocean Apex semisubmersible rig has been contracted for a further period offshore Australia. This contract, which is for a minimum 37 days, will begin in direct continuation of the Ocean Apex's prior commitments in Australia, estimated to occur between second- and third-quarter 2025.

Moreover, Tullow shared that the Noble Venturer drillship is due to start drilling one producer and one injector on Jubilee in May, both of which should go online during the third quarter. Following a break for maintenance, the drillship will resume drilling for Tullow at the start drilling of 2026.

Earlier this week, Noble announced plans to divest the cold-stacked Pacific Meltem and Pacific Scirocco drillships from its fleet to eliminate costs related to these units and prioritize resources on the existing marketed fleet. The company's intention is to retire them permanently from drilling operation, including potentially scrapping the units.

About the Author

Ariana Hurtado | Editor-in-Chief

With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore magazine, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.

Utilizing her editorial expertise, she manages digital media for the Offshore team. She also helps create and oversee new special industry reports and revolutionizes existing supplements, while also contributing content to Offshore magazine, its newsletters and website as a copy editor and writer.

Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024.

Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.

She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.