Noble Corporation Announces Results of Shareholder Vote

ZUG, Switzerland, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today announced the results of the annual general meeting of shareholders of Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation (the "Company"), held on April 29, 2011, in Zug, Switzerland. At the meeting, shareholders approved a number of matters, including:

• The reelection to the Company's Board of Directors of Lawrence J. Chazen; Jon A. Marshall; and Mary P. Ricciardello for a three-year term that will expire in 2014.
• Approval of the 2010 Annual Report, the consolidated financial statements of the Company for fiscal year 2010 and the statutory financial statements of the Company for fiscal year 2010.
• The appropriation of Swiss francs (CHF) 345,073,345 of the Company's retained earnings at December 31, 2010 to a reserve for treasury shares.
• A capital reduction through a cancellation of 10,115,693 shares held in treasury.
• Authority to issue up to 133,075,000 shares until April 28, 2013.
• A return of capital through a reduction of the par value of the Company's shares in an aggregate amount equal to CHF 0.52 per share, which is equal to approximately USD $0.59 using the currency exchange rate as published by the Swiss National Bank on April 29, 2011 (0.8689 CHF/1.0 USD), and to pay such amount in four installments of CHF 0.13 per share in August 2011, November 2011, February 2012 and May 2012. Actual distribution payments will be subject to the satisfaction of applicable Swiss law requirements and may vary due to fluctuations in the Swiss franc/U.S. dollar exchange rate between now and each distribution payment date.
• Appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2011 and election of PricewaterhouseCoopers AG as the Company's statutory auditor for a one-year term.
• Discharge the members of the Board of Directors and the executive officers from personal liability for fiscal year 2010.
• An advisory vote approving the compensation of the Company's named executive officers.
• An advisory vote, approving a frequency of once every year for the submission to shareholders of an advisory vote on the compensation of the Company's named executive officers.

For a complete description of the above matters, please refer to the Company's definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2011.

About Noble Corporation

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 76 offshore drilling units (including seven ultra-deepwater rigs and four 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 also owns and operates a dynamically positioned floating production, storage, offloading vessel.  Noble's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NE". Additional information on Noble Corporation is available via the worldwide web at http://www.noblecorp.com.

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" about the business, financial performance and prospects of the Company. Statements about the Company's or management's plans, intentions, expectations, beliefs, estimates, predictions, or similar expressions for the future, including any statements regarding the payment of any dividend or capital reduction or the timing and amount of such payment, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the making of required filings with the Swiss Commercial Register. No assurance can be given that the outcomes of these forward-looking statements will be realized, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed as a result of various factors. A discussion of these factors, including risks and uncertainties, is set forth from time to time in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Noble Corporation