Noble Corporation Announces New Contracts and a Contract Extension for Rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea

ZUG, Switzerland, Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today announced that it has been awarded a contract for the semisubmersible rig Noble Paul Romano  and received a contract extension on the semisubmersible rig Noble Max Smith, two rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the Company has been awarded a contract for the jackup rig Noble George Sauvageau operating in the Southern sector of the North Sea.

The Noble Paul Romano has been awarded a six well, approximately 180-day contract by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (GSPC) for operations offshore Egypt at a dayrate of $325,000, excluding mobilization revenues.  The rig, which has been idle in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since June 2010, is expected to commence the new contract in October 2011, following mobilization to an initial drilling location in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  The contract could be extended for up to four optional wells. The Noble Paul Romano is a Noble EVA 4000, conventionally moored deepwater semisubmersible rated to operate in water depths of up to 6,000 feet.

Also, the Noble Max Smith, operating offshore Mexico for Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (PEMEX), has received a five-month extension of its current contract. The extension commenced in August 2011 at a dayrate of $380,000.  The Noble Max Smith is a Noble EVA 4000, conventionally-moored deepwater semisubmersible capable of operating in water depths of up to 7,000 feet. The rig has operated offshore Mexico since August 2008.

In addition, the Company reported that the semisubmersible rig Noble Driller commenced its full operating dayrate of $383,000 on August 1, 2011 and has mobilized to an operating location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The rig is under contract through June 2013.

Finally, the Noble George Sauvageau has been awarded a one-year contract by Wintershall for operations in the Southern sector of the North Sea at a dayrate of $115,000. The rig is now firmly committed through 2012.

About Noble

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 78 offshore drilling units (including seven ultra-deepwater rigs and six jackup drilling rigs currently under construction), located worldwide, including in the Middle East, India, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa and Asian Pacific.  Noble's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NE". Additional information on Noble Corporation is available on the Company's Web site at http://www.noblecorp.com.

Statements regarding contract awards, contract commencements and durations, expected dayrates, as well as any other statements that are not historical facts in this release, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These include but are not limited to actions by clients, governments and other third parties, operating hazards and delays, factors affecting the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, supply and demand of drilling rigs, factors affecting dayrates and the duration of contracts, weather conditions, the future prices of oil and gas and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q's and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated.

SOURCE Noble Corporation

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