Noble Corporation Board Schedules Annual Meeting; Approves Proposals for Total Capital Reduction Payments of 1.08 CHF

ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has scheduled the 2010 annual general meeting of shareholders (AGM) to be held on April 30, 2010 at 3:00 p.m., Central European Daylight Savings Time (8:00 a.m., U.S. Central Daylight Savings Time) at the at the Parkhotel Zug, Industriestrasse 14, Zug, Switzerland. 

The Company also announced today that the Company's Board of Directors has approved, subject to shareholder authorization, the regular payment of a return of capital through a reduction of the par value of the Company's shares in an amount equal to Swiss francs 0.52 CHF per share in four equal installments scheduled for August 2010, November 2010, February 2011 and May 2011.  The payments will be made in U.S. dollars based on the CHF/USD exchange rate available approximately two business days prior to the payment date. Although the amount of the return of capital, expressed in Swiss francs, is fixed, the amount of the payment in U.S. dollars will fluctuate based on the exchange rate.  The exchange rate as published by the Swiss National Bank on February 5, 2010 was 1.0742 CHF/1.0 USD.

In addition, the Company's Board of Directors approved, subject to shareholder authorization, a single payment of a special return of capital through a par value reduction of 0.56 CHF per share.  This payment, scheduled for August 2010, will also be paid in U.S. dollars based on the CHF/USD exchange rate available approximately two business days prior to the payment date.

"Our strong cash flow, solid balance sheet and backlog, combined with confidence in the long-term favorable fundamentals of our business encouraged our Board to approve this return of value to shareholders," said David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Corporation. "At the same time, we believe we are equipped to continue to invest in our fleet, consider additional share repurchases and capitalize on attractive opportunities in the offshore drilling industry."

Full details about the annual general meeting of shareholders will be provided in the Company's definitive proxy statement for the meeting, which will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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 62 offshore drilling units (including three 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, and West Africa. 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.

Statements regarding capital reductions, financial results, cash flow,  future performance, growth opportunities, market outlook, share repurchases, future investments, 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 shareholder authorization of the capital reductions, operating hazards and delays, risks associated with operations outside of the U.S., actions by customers and other third parties, factors affecting the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, supply and demand of drilling rigs, factors affecting the duration of contracts, the actual amount of downtime, factors that reduce applicable dayrates, violations of anti-corruption laws, hurricanes and other weather conditions, the future price of oil and gas and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Form 10-K 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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