Offshore staff
SUGAR LAND, Texas – Noble Corp. has issued an update on its offshore drilling rig fleet.
QuarterNorth Energy has awarded the drillship Noble Faye Kozack (ex-Khamsin) a three-well contract in the US Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to start in April 2022 at a day rate of $240,000 for the first 50 days and $290,000 for the remainder of the contract. The contract also includes three one-well options priced at $290,000/d or $310,000/d subject to oil price thresholds.
Murphy E&P has exercised two of five one-well options for the drillship Noble Stanley Lafosse (ex-Sharav) in the Gulf of Mexico. Those two exercised options are priced at $300,000 /d and will begin in direct continuation of the current contract.
Noble has received a conditional award under the commercial enabling agreement with ExxonMobil. It includes about 7.4 years of additional contract term and reallocates all existing term evenly across the drillships Noble Tom Madden, Noble Sam Croft, Noble Bob Douglas, and Noble Don Taylor in Guyana. The additional contract term is subject to government approvals and final project sanction for the Yellowtail development project. Once finalized, the conditional award will extend the contracted term into 4Q 2025.
The drillship Noble Gerry de Souza (ex-Santa Ana) is currently completing an out-of-service period in Las Palmas following its multi-year contract with Petronas in West Africa. The rig is being upgraded with an MPD system and a second BOP and is preparing to mobilize to Suriname for its next contract with APA Corp. That contract is expected to start in March 2022.
Repsol has awarded the jackup Noble Regina Allen a one-well contract offshore Guyana. It is expected to start in May 2022.
Santos has exercised the first three of nine one-well options for the jackup Noble Tom Prosser offshore Australia.
Equinor has exercised three of 12 one-well options for the jackup Noble Lloyd Noble offshore Norway. Recently, the rig was modified to further reduce its carbon footprint through the addition of a selective catalytic reduction system and switchboard upgrades required for peak shaving, which allows for fewer engines to run at higher efficiency, and connection to shore power.
During 4Q 2021, the jackup Noble Hans Deul underwent leg repair work in the UK and safely returned to the Southwark field for IOG.
In addition, the drilling contractor has warm-stacked the semisubmersible Noble Clyde Boudreaux in Malaysia and cold-stacked the jackup Noble Sam Hartley in the UK.
As for the state of the offshore drilling industry, President and CEO Robert W. Eifler said: “Following significant improvement in the UDW market in 2021, the industry outlook remains positive with a continued upward trajectory in activity levels and day rates. Forward indicators for both ultra-deepwater and ultra-harsh jackup markets continue to strengthen as we see customers respond to improving commodity prices.
“We remain focused on safely serving the needs of our customers and maximizing value for our shareholders. 2022 will be another defining year for Noble as we prepare for the closing of our combination with Maersk Drilling and the integration of our two historic companies.”
02/17/2022
