Noble Drilling Corporation News

Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. has announced that one of its subsidiaries has sold its minority equity interest in Ilion LLC for $12.8 million to Noble Drilling Corporation. The Ilion, a Friede and Goldman designed semi submersible, is in the Friede Goldman Offshore shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. Additionally Friede & Goldman, Ltd., recently received a contract from Noble Drilling to perform design engineering for phase one upgrading of the semi submersible. Phase one specifically involves the upgrading of the rig's hull.

Noble Drilling Corporation's reported net income increased 143 percent for the fourth quarter of 2000 to $51.9 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $241.2 million, compared to net income, excluding the effects of non-recurring items, of $21.4 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $173.5 million for the fourth quarter of 1999. The quarterly results for 1999 included a restructuring charge of $7.5 million ($4.9 net of tax) related to early retirement packages offered to a number of employees and the relocation of the Company's Gulf Coast Marine division office in Lafayette, Louisiana to the centralized office in Sugar Land.

Noble Drilling Corporation has formed a joint venture with Lime Rock Partners, and the joint venture has acquired Ocean Scotian, a North Sea jackup, for $32.7 million. Concurrent with the acquisition, the rig was renamed Noble Julie Robertson. Noble Drilling owns 50 percent of the joint venture, and will manage the upgrade, marketing and operation of the rig. Noble Drilling expects to upgrade the drilling systems and the crew accommodations in order to conform to the new regulations applicable in the North Sea. The company anticipates the unit will be available for service in mid-2000. James C.

Noble Drilling Corporation reported net income, excluding the effects of non-recurring items, for the fourth quarter of 1998 of $34.7 million on operating revenues of $187.9 million, compared to net income of $46.6 million on operating revenues of $187.9 million for the fourth quarter of 1997. Utilization of the Company's active rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico averaged 61 percent for the fourth quarter of 1998 compared to 97 percent for the fourth quarter of 1997 and 64 percent for the third quarter of 1998. International offshore utilization averaged 92 percent for the fourth quarter of 1998 compared to 97 percent for the fourth quarter of 1997 and 89 percent for the third quarter of 1998. As of December 31, 1998, Noble operated 11 rigs under labor contracts in the U.K.

Noble Drilling Corporation announced its fourth successful EVA-4000TM semisubmersible conversion, Noble Amos Runner, began its five-year contract for Kerr-McGee Corporation, Marathon Oil Company and Murphy Exploration and Production Company in the Gulf of Mexico. The unit, capable of drilling in water depths up to 6,600 ft., was delivered from the shipyard in August. The company also reported Noble Paul Wolff, the second EVA-4000TM conversion, has successfully drilled a well in a water depth of 8,017 ft. for Petroleo Brasiliero S.A. (Petrobras), which sets a new world water depth drilling record. The unit, a dynamically positioned semisubmersible unit capable of drilling in water depths up to 8…

Oilfield service companies were not nearly as lucky as their oil producing counterparts. While net income in the oil producing industry was up over the 1998 third-quarter, oilfield service companies were still feeling the pain of the low oil prices from earlier in the year. While the stock market - the global business measuring stick - has generally been positive on the offshore oilfield sector throughout much of the year, there has been a relapse of sorts in October, as uncertainty surrounding OPEC output quotas has largely dampened the year's progress. In fact, a major tracker of offshore industry stocks, Warburg Dillon Read, in mid-October cut its ratings of four oilfield equipment and services companies.

Noble Drilling Corporation, along with its subsidiaries Noble Drilling Services Inc. and Noble Drilling (U.S.) Inc., has filed suit against Samedan Oil Corporation and Mariner Energy, Inc. for breach of contract. In recent years, Noble Drilling has focused on increasing the number of rigs in its fleet capable of deepwater offshore drilling. A principal component of this deepwater strategy has been the conversion and upgrade of rigs to drill in water depths greater than 5,000 ft. Five of the six rigs in this program have been delivered under long-term contracts. Noble Max Smith was delivered on December 22, 1999 for use by Amerada Hess Corporation.

Noble Drilling Corporation announced its fifth successful EVA-4000TM semisubmersible conversion, Noble Max Smith, commenced its mobilization to its first location in Alaminos Canyon for Amerada Hess Corporation. The unit, capable of drilling in water depths up to 6,000 ft., will undergo final commissioning of its marine systems when it arrives on location. Upon completion of commissioning, the rig will commence drilling operations under its contract with Amerada Hess Corporation. The conversion of Noble Max Smith was completed in 14 months, which was approximately eight months faster than the first EVA-4000TM semisubmersible conversion, Noble Paul Romano. Additionally, the estimated total conversion cost is anticipated to be approximately four percent below the construction budget.

Noble Drilling Corporation has negotiated a resolution to the dispute with Mariner Energy, Inc. regarding the use by Mariner of Noble's newly converted semisubmersible, Noble Homer Ferrington. As announced on January 10, 2000, Noble had previously filed suit against Mariner and Samedan Oil Corporation for breach of contract regarding the use of the rig. As part of the settlement, Mariner and Noble have executed agreements covering use of Noble Homer Ferrington at variable dayrates for 660 days during a five-year period. Noble will also receive working interests in seven of Mariner's deepwater exploration prospects. Mariner will pay Noble's share of the drilling costs during the initial test well on each of those prospects. Noble Homer Ferrington, which is rated to drill in 6,000 ft.