Noble (NE) Leases Deep-Water Rig to Shell (RDS-A)

Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE), the world’s third- largest deep-water drilling contractor, said it has an agreement to rent one of its idled rigs to Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE:RDS-A) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Geneva-based owner of 73 drilling rigs also has an agreement to boost the so-called standby rates on three other rigs leased to Shell, Noble said today in a statement. Drilling contractors and operators are negotiating standby rates as a discounted daily rent for rigs that await a U.S. drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Jim Day rig, which is capable of operating in water 12,000 feet deep, will earn $156,000 a day through the end of May and will get $242,000 a day until July 31, Noble said. If Shell still doesn’t receive a permit by Aug. 1, the rig would earn a regular rent of $485,000 per day. The rig, which will be contracted through the end of January 2012, may also earn a 15 percent performance bonus.

Noble said Jan. 3 it was “disappointed” that Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Corp. canceled a $752 million, four-year contract for the same rig.





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