Noble Adds $560 Million in Offshore Drilling Contracts Across Multiple Countries

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 26, offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation confirmed in its third-quarter business update that it had secured approximately $560 million in new contracts since its July fleet status report, covering exploration drilling, development well drilling, plugging and abandonment, and light well intervention services across Africa, South America, and Norwegian waters. The new contracts cover six offshore drilling units, and as of the announcement date, the company's total backlog stood at approximately $6.7 billion.

In the West African market, the drillship Noble BlackRhino secured a four-well drilling contract with TotalEnergies in Nigeria, with operations expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a duration of approximately 150 days; the contract also includes options for six additional wells. The drillship Noble Faye Kozack secured a five-well drilling contract with Tullow in Ghana, with spudding planned for mid-2027, an estimated operating duration of 250 days, and options for five additional wells.

The new assignments in Norwegian waters involve two jackup rigs. Noble Interceptor secured a one-well drilling contract with DNO, scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2027 with an expected duration of 50 to 90 days, after which it will transition directly to plugging and abandonment work for ConocoPhillips at the Ekofisk field, with an estimated duration of 670 days. Noble Intrepid secured a one-well contract with ORLEN, also scheduled to commence in the third quarter of the same year, with an estimated operating duration of 40 to 60 days.

In South America, the drillship Noble BlackHawk secured a one-well drilling order with Apache in Uruguay, valued at approximately $25 million excluding mobilization and demobilization costs, with operations planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2027 and an estimated duration of 50 days. The drillship Noble Globetrotter I secured a two-well contract with Occidental Petroleum in Peru, scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2027, at a day rate of $400,000 plus mobilization fees.

After completing its Peru assignment, Noble Globetrotter I also plans to conduct light well intervention services in West Africa under a three-year capacity reservation agreement signed with TotalEnergies, with a minimum annual service commitment of 150 days. The first specific service order is expected to commence in Angola in the third or fourth quarter of 2027. The above contracts add approximately 44 months of floating drilling unit contract backlog and 26 months of jackup contract backlog for Noble.