Noble Corp Fleet Status: One Contract Inked, Another Ceased

Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) released its latest fleet status update that included information about a new contract as well as an early termination of another.

Noble Corp. has contracted its drillship Noble Bob Douglas with Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) at an undisclosed dayrate. The contract is for the period Apr–Jun 2017. The drillship will operate in Suriname.

On the other hand, Noble Corp. announced that it has reached an agreement with its customer – Quadrant Energy – for the early termination of the drilling contracts for one of its jackup rig. The contract is now expected to conclude during the second half of Sep 2016. As part of the contract, Noble Corp. will receive a demobilization fee as well as 50% of the operating dayrate through the original contract expiration date from the customer.

Noble Corp. provides diversified services for the oil and gas industry. The company offers contract drilling services with a fleet of 30 offshore drilling units (consisting of 16 semisubmersibles and drillships and 14 jackups). The company renders contract drilling services along with provision of labor contract drilling, engineering and consulting, and project management services. The company offers its services in the United States, the Middle East, India, Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, and West Africa.

In addition, Noble Corp. is a leading offshore drilling firm with a robust portfolio of assets. Though the industry has witnessed a setback in the past few months, the company is likely to be less impacted by it than its peers. This is because it enjoys a strong backlog position ($8.1 billion).

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Noble Corp. remains on track to upgrade its fleet through acquisitions and newbuild projects. Moreover, it continues to benefit from its robust position in the ultra-deepwater market.

Noble Corp. carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players from the energy sector are Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) , Enbridge, Inc. (NYSE:ENB) and Total SA (TO:TOT) . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).