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

Noble Corporation 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. 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. 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.