Noble jack-up rig finds more work in North Sea

January 9, 2024, by Melisa Čavčić

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has secured a new assignment for one of its harsh environment jack-up rigs with Wintershall Noordzee, a subsidiary of Germany’s Wintershall Dea, for plug and abandonment work in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Noble Resilient jack-up rig; Source: Noble Corporation

With an estimated duration of 60 days, the two-well plug and abandonment contract with Wintershall Noordzee is for the Noble Resilient jack-up rig. This deal is expected to start in April. The rig is currently completing a scheduled special periodic survey (SPS) and undergoing repairs in Frederikshavn, Denmark.

Blake Denton, Noble’s SVP of Marketing & Contracts, commented: “We are happy to announce that the Noble Resilient will be back in action for this P&A operation in April. The Resilient was recently involved in an incident in port where another vessel became unmoored and allided with our rig, but a plan for repairs is now in place which has provided line of sight to firm up this contract with Wintershall Noordzee.”

Prior to this deal, the jack-up rig was awarded a 120-day contract by Petrogas in the UK North Sea at a day rate of $133,000. The two-well contract was slated to begin in 3Q 2024 and came with four one-well extension options. The rig was also used to spud Shell’s Pensacola gas prospect in the North Sea.

The 2009-built Noble Resilient jack-up rig is of Gusto MSC CJ50 X100 MC design. Constructed at Keppel Fels Shipyard in Singapore, the rig can accommodate 120 people. With a maximum drilling depth of 30,000 ft, the jack-up can operate in water depths of up to 350 ft.

This contract follows a contract extension for one of Noble’s seventh-generation drillships in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Noble and Petronas ironed out the details for a rig swap offshore Suriname a few days ago.

After reviewing the available day rate information within Noble’s most recent fleet status report, Offshore Energy concluded that the Noble Valiant drillship was the company’s highest-paid rig in 2H 2023.