Noble inks Shell extension, stacks one semisub

Noble Corp.’s fleet report has revealed a two-year extension with supermajor Shell, dayrate adjustments, and the addition of another semisubmersible drilling rig to the cold stack list.

The Noble Globetrotter I, from Noble.

Shell has agreed to a two-year extension for the Noble Hans Deul jackup, for operations in the North Sea. The original contract became effective in August 2014 and was expected to end in August 2016 at a dayrate of US$235,000. The extension will see the contract now end in August 2018 at a reduced dayrate of $88,600. The contract comes with an early termination option.

Noble has also added to its cold stack list, with the addition of the Noble Amos Runner semisubmersible, which came off of a contract with LLOG in February 2016. Noble’s cold stack list stands at two semisubmersible drilling rigs, the other being the Noble Homer Ferrington that became listed in January.

Shell is also in negotiations with Noble to reduce dayrates for three drillships operating in the Gulf of Mexico due to the decline in operating costs from the reduction in crew levels: the Noble Don Taylor at $475,000 per day, Noble Bully I at $491,000 per day, and the Noble Globetrotter I at $436,000 per day.

Also new in the company’s fleet status report, are negotiated rates with Freeport McMoRan (FCX) for the Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden drillships for operation in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Noble Sam Croft’s dayrate was reduced to $641,000, from $643,000. The contract began in July 2014, and is currently scheduled to end in July 2017. Noble Tom Madden’s dayrate dropped from $637,000 to $635,000.  Its contract began in November 2014, and is currently set to end November 2017.

The dayrates were reduced due to FCX’s decline in operations, in which the company plans to reduce the number of rigs it will utilize in the Gulf of Mexico. Noble confirmed that it is in discussion with FCX in connection with a potential restructuring of the contracts.

Saudi Aramco has also negotiated dayrate drops from $169,000 to $167,000 for both the Noble Scott Marks and Noble Roger Lewis jackups, for operations offshore Saudi Arabia.

Noble said it anticipates further discussions with Aramco at the end of 2016 to determine dayrates for the remainder of the contracts of four contracts: the Noble Scott Marks set to end July 2017; the Noble Roger Lewis set to end March 2017; the Noble Joe Beall and the Noble Gene House, which are both set to end in November 2018 at a dayrate of $65,000.

In addition, the Noble Danny Adkins semisubmersible recently completed a contract with Talos in the GoM in March, and is currently classified as warm stacked.

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