Noble lands nine rig awards, enters Norwegian floater market
Noble Corporation announced new contract awards for nine rigs worth approximately $1.3 billion of backlog, including a three-year contract for the harsh environment semisubmersible Noble GreatWhite, which will expand the Company’s existing Norway presence into the harsh environment floater market.
New contract awards include the following:
Noble GreatWhite was awarded a new three-year contract with Aker BP for operations offshore Norway, expected to start in Q2 2027. The award represents approximately $473 million of total contract value, including mobilization fee and excluding integrated services and bonus potential.
This marks the Noble GreatWhite’s first campaign in Norway and represents a significant step in expanding Noble’s presence on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In preparation for this campaign, Noble anticipates approximately $160 million of capital expenditures associated with reactivation and contract preparation activities.
Noble Gerry de Souza was awarded a two-year drilling contract, with up to three years of optional extensions, by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso. Operations are targeted for mid-2026 subject to regulatory approvals and conditions. This project is expected to add an estimated $292 million to our backlog resuming operations through PIDWAL, Noble’s Nigerian joint venture with Derotech. Noble plans to upgrade the Gerry de Souza for Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) ahead of this program.
ExxonMobil awarded two additional rig years of backlog under the Commercial Enabling Agreement (CEA) in Guyana, assigned evenly across the four drillships – Noble Sam Croft, Noble Don Taylor, Noble Tom Madden and Noble Bob Douglas – extending each rig through February 2029.
Noble BlackRhino was awarded a contract for one workover well with Beacon Offshore Energy in the US Gulf, scheduled to start in March 2026 with an estimated duration of 50 days. The contract includes an option for an additional well with estimated duration of 100 days.
Noble Endeavor was awarded an 11-well contract with an undisclosed operator in South America, estimated to commence in late 2026 at a day rate of $300,000 plus mobilization and demobilization fees with the potential for additional revenue from a performance incentive provision.
Noble Developer was awarded a three-well contract with estimated duration of 240 days with bp in Trinidad, scheduled to commence in Q1 2027 at a day rate of $375,000. The contract includes options for up to three additional wells with estimated combined duration of 240 days.
Additionally, the previously announced three-year contract with TotalEnergies in Suriname that was formerly assigned to the Noble Developer has been transferred to the Noble Discoverer.
