NOBLE Q1 2017: RECOVERY IS YET TO COME

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, Noble Corporation reported net income of $105 million. Contract drilling services revenues for the first quarter of 2017 totaled $355 million compared to $401 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. For the first quarter of 2017, utilization of the Company’s floating rig fleet was 46 percent compared to 43 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, with the slight increase reflecting the removal of two semisubmersible rigs retired from service in December 2016. Operating days during the first quarter declined eight percent when compared to the preceding quarter following the completion of contracts on the drillships Noble Bob Douglas and Noble Bully I. Average daily revenues in the first quarter declined to $363,100 from $429,400 during the preceding quarter, reflecting the completion of the two drillship contracts and a reduction in the dayrate on the Noble Globetrotter II from $434,000 to $185,000 following the commencement in December 2016 of an idle period in accordance with the previously disclosed contract amendment with Shell. The Noble Bob Douglas was mobilized during the first quarter to Suriname where it completed a one-well assignment in mid-April and is currently hot stacked in the southern Caribbean while the Company evaluates multiple near-term opportunities. Following the completion of the contract for the Noble Bully I, the rig was mobilized to the southern Caribbean where it will be cold stacked at an expected average daily cost of $10,000 to $15,000.
Utilization of the Company’s 14-rig jackup fleet reached 93 percent in the first quarter of 2017, up from 86 percent in the preceding quarter. The improvement reflected a full quarter of operations on the Noble Houston Colbert and Noble Lloyd Noble following the commencement of contracts on both rigs in late fourth quarter 2016. Average daily revenues in the first quarter improved to $123,200 compared to $108,900 in the preceding quarter. (Source: Noble Corp.)