Noble Corporation closes acquisition of Diamond Offshore Drilling

Noble Corporation has confirmed the completion of its acquisition of Diamond Offshore Drilling, the resulting transaction creating what Noble claims is one of the largest fleet of seventh generation dual-BOP drillships,

Noble has published an updated fleet status report reflecting the addition of the Diamond rigs and other updates, chiefly the addition of 4.8 rig years of backlog recently awarded under the commercial enabling agreement (CEA) with ExxonMobil for the company's four drillships operating in Guyana. These updates increase Noble's current backlog to US$6.7 billion.

Noble's acquisition of Diamond Offshore also includes four drillships and one high-specification, harsh environment semisubmersible rig. Robert Eifler, Noble's President and Chief Executive Officer, said Diamond's five conventional deepwater and midwater rigs have averaged above 85 per cent utilisation over the last three years and currently have strong forward contract coverage.

As part of the transaction, Diamond shareholders will receive 0.2316 shares of Noble, plus cash consideration of US$5.65 per share for each share of Diamond stock, representing an 11.4 per cent premium to closing stock prices on June 7, 2024.