Noble rigs score more work with TotalEnergies, BP, and TAQA as Inpex opts for early termination

U.S. offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has secured further work with France’s TotalEnergies in Nigeria and TAQA in the UK for two floaters, while one of its jack-up rigs got more work in Britain with BP. However, Inpex has decided to break off a deal in Australia for one of the rig owner’s floaters.

In January 2023, Noble disclosed that the Noble Gerry de Souza drillship was expected to start a new contract in Nigeria for a firm duration of nine months, with unpriced options extending into 3Q 2024. The rig started its assignment with TotalEnergies in February 2023. The drillship received its last nine-month extension in February 2024 from the French energy giant to continue to work in Nigeria until November 2024.

According to the rig owner, TotalEnergies has exercised an option to prolong the drillship’s assignment for around 140 days, which is estimated to begin in early January 2025, following an approximately six-week period off-hire. With priced options said to be comprising slightly greater than one year, the French player could extend the rig’s stay in the African country further.

While APA Corp. previously contracted the 2011-built drillship in Suriname, the deal was later novated to TotalEnergies for work the rig was scheduled to complete in December 2022 under an undisclosed day rate.

The Noble Gerry de Souza drillship was constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries and comes with a Samsung 12000 double hull design. While it can operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet, the rig’s maximum drilling depth is 40,000 feet. This drillship can accommodate 200 people.

On the other hand, the Noble Patriot semi-submersible rig, former Ocean Patriot before Noble’s merger with Diamond Offshore, won a 35-well P&A contract in 2023 with TAQA Bratani Limited (TAQA) in the UK with an estimated duration of three years. The deal, scheduled to start in January 2025, came with up to 17 priced option wells with an estimated duration of 12 months.

Since TAQA has exercised options for sixteen wells with an estimated duration of one year, the contract now comprises 51 well P&A scope with an estimated four-year duration, plus a priced option for one additional P&A well. The deal is due to end in January 2029. The 1983-built Noble Patriot rig is of Bingo 3000 design. This rig can operate in a water depth of up to 3,000 feet, and its maximum drilling depth is 20,000 feet.

One of Noble’s floaters, which ended up being less fortunate than its brethren, is the Noble Deliverer semi-submersible rig. Inpex has exercised the option for early termination of its time-based contract for the rig offshore Australia, inclusive of an early termination fee.

According to the rig owner, the termination is expected to be effective mid-December 2024, subject to completion of demobilization. Inpex exercised a nine-month extension option with a day rate of $451,500 last year for drilling at the Ichthys field in the Browse Basin off the coast of Western Australia, which the rig embarked on in July 2024.

As a result, the contract was slated to end next year. With a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet, the Noble Deliverer semi-submersible rig is of DSS21-DPS2 design and can operate in water depths of 10,000 feet.

Meanwhile, Noble has also landed a two-well extension with BP for the Noble Innovator jack-up rig with an estimated duration of 200 days under the day rate of $155,000, prolonging the rig’s job up to November 2026. This follows the previous extension with the oil major in the UK North Sea that entailed an estimated duration of approximately eight months at the same daily rate.

The 2003-built Noble Innovator jack-up rig is of Gusto MSC CJ 70–150 MC design. Constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea, the rig can accommodate 120 people. Originally, the rig owner secured an award for a one-year contract with BP in December 2022 at a day rate of $135,000, with a one-year option at a higher day rate. 

When the UK operator added a one-well option to the work scope of the ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig in 2023, the duo also agreed to amend and expand the options structure in the contract, giving BP options to extend the contract by up to six additional wells at pre-agreed day rates.

Recently, Noble explained that contract fixtures for lower specification floaters were limited in 2024 and would likely reflect a softer utilization environment throughout 2025 due to continuing white space risk impacting all floater segments.

However, the rig owner believes there will be a boost in drilling demand for the floater fleet from late 2025 and 2026, bringing further rig reactivations because of the role oil and gas production from deepwater reservoirs is anticipated to play in the global security of energy supply.