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Noble remains focused on execution with 3.9 billion in backlog

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  • By Rig Lynx
  • Mar 05, 2023
  • Category : Archives
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Commenting on Noble's outlook, Mr. Eifler stated, "We continue to see a very promising fundamental setup for the offshore drilling business, governed by increasingly tight industry utilization, robust customer economics and demand growth visibility and, not least, rational capital allocation in our industry. As the market improves, we remain focused on execution across all facets of our business, and are committed to returning capital to shareholders

 

Fourth Quarter Results


Contract drilling services revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 totaled $586 million compared to $289 million in the third quarter, with the increase primarily attributable to the business combination. Marketed fleet utilization was 88% in the three months ended December 31, 2022 compared to 89% in the previous quarter. Contract drilling services costs for the fourth quarter were $366 million, up from $186 million in the third quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2022 was $157 million compared to $97 million in the third quarter of 2022. Capital expenditures totaled $77 million in the fourth quarter and $194 million for the full year ending December 31, 2022. Net cash provided by operating activities for the fourth quarter was $171 million and free cash flow was $106 million. Our business combination with Maersk Drilling closed on October 3, 2022. Results for the fourth quarter reflect the combined company for 90 out of 92 days of the period.

 

Operating Highlights and Backlog


Noble's marketed fleet of sixteen floaters was 91% contracted through the fourth quarter, compared with 96% utilization on nine floaters in the prior quarter. This sequential change reflects the addition of seven UDW rigs added from the legacy Maersk Drilling fleet. Tier 1 drillships remain at or above 95% marketed utilization, with leading edge dayrate fixtures steadily increasing, presently in the low to mid $400,000s per day range. Since the prior Fleet Status Report in early November, Noble has secured 24 months of additional backlog across four 6G and 7G drillships at an average dayrate above $420,000. Our sixteen marketed UDW rigs are currently 75% contracted throughout 2023 with visibility toward securing additional utilization for a portion of the remaining availability for this year, although some contract gaps and SPS time will remain uncontracted. Additionally, the Noble Globetrotter Iremains off contract since October, pending permit approvals in Mexico. The average dayrate across our $2.7 billion floater backlog is approximately $400,000, and with over half of our 2024 floater days uncommitted, an upward trajectory for repricing the fleet is visible based on current market dynamics.

 

Utilization of Noble's thirteen marketed jackups was 85% in the fourth quarter, compared with 82% utilization on eight marketed jackups during the third quarter. The sequential change in fleet composition reflects the addition of ten jackups from the legacy Maersk Drilling fleet and the sale of five legacy Noble jackups to a subsidiary of Shelf Drilling, Ltd. as part of the business combination with Maersk Drilling. During the fourth quarter, the Noble Innovator was awarded a one year contract with BP in the UK North Sea at $135,000 per day, with a one year option at a higher dayrate. As recently reported, the Noble Regina Allen is currently off contract and expected to be unavailable for a substantial portion of 2023 as leg and jacking system repairs are made. Currently nine of our thirteen jackups are contracted, and 55% of total available jackup days across our fleet are contracted throughout 2023. Our $1 billion jackup backlog is heavily weighted to the Noble Integrator and Noble Invincible commitments under the Aker BP alliance. While jackup demand in Norway remains subdued in 2023, we continue to see improving demand indicators in Norway and globally for our jackup fleet moving forward. We expect a limited contribution from jackups to our total EBITDA in 2023.

Noble's backlog at December 31, 2022 stood at $3.9 billion.

 

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