Noble bags new rig deals worth close to $1.4bn

Offshore drilling giant Noble Corporation has announced several new rig deals, increasing its backlog to $7.5bn.

Noble revealed in its fleet status report that the 2015-built drillship Noble Voyager and a second Noble V-class 7th generation drillship, to be named at a later date, won a contract for four years each with supermajor Shell in the US Gulf of Mexico. The contract also includes four one-year extension options per rig at mutually agreed rates.

The deals are set to begin in mid-2026 and the fourth quarter of 2027. Each includes a base dayrate value of $606m, inclusive of upgrades and services but excluding additional fees for mobilisation and demobilisation.

Furthermore, there is the potential to earn performance incentive compensation of up to a maximum of 20% of the base value. The performance incentive is not guaranteed and is contingent upon achieving specific performance targets.

A similar deal was awarded by TotalEnergies in Suriname for the 2009-built semisub Noble Developer and a Noble V-class 7th generation drillship, also to be named later.

The 16-well deal, estimated at 1,060 days, is scheduled to begin between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

Together, the firm revenue of the two contracts is $753m. These contracts allow for an additional $297m in revenue tied to a collective operational performance program with TotalEnergies. The contract includes four one-well extension options per rig.

Noble said that the 2014-built Noble Valiant and Noble Venturer will be the drillships to work on the two contracts. However, it is not yet decided which rig will work where. The former is currently available for hire while the latter has obligations with Rhino Resources and Tullow in Africa until August 2026.

The final rig to win a brand new deal is the 2014-built jackup Noble Intrepid. It scored a one-well contract with DNO Norge in Norway, which is expected to begin in August 2025 with an estimated duration of 50-90 days.

The company revealed in its financial results for the first quarter of 2025 that it won approximately 15 rig years of new contract awards during the period.

The deals already mentioned and the previously reported contracts for the Noble Discoverer, Noble Viking, and the Noble Regina Allen amount to $2.2bn to $2.7bn of revenue potential. As a result, the company’s backlog has increased to $7.5bn.