Noble Corporation Exercises Options to Construct Two Additional High-Specification Jackups

Noble Corporation NE today announced that the Company has exercised options with Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary Jurong Shipyard for the construction of two additional high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment JU3000N jackup drilling rigs. This order will bring to six the total number of new jackup rigs the Company will have under construction with the Jurong Shipyard. David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Corporation, stated, "We continue to see a growing interest from clients for the advanced features of the JU3000N jackup design. Opportunities for these units are evident in several offshore regions, including the North Sea, Middle East and Asia. This latest rig order reflects our continuing commitment to expand our ownership of industry-leading offshore drilling technology, enabling us to address some of the most demanding well construction challenges around the world." Total delivered costs for these latest two orders are estimated at approximately $245 million per rig, including project management, spares, and start-up costs, but excluding capitalized interest. Payment terms are consistent with the order of the four previous rigs placed with the Jurong Shipyard since December 2010: 20 percent of the construction price due at contract signing, 20 percent due at steel cutting, and the remainder due at rig delivery. The two latest orders are expected to be delivered from the shipyard during the third and fourth quarters of 2014, following which would be mobilization and acceptance testing by their respective future customers.