Noble Corporation Plans to Divest Two Cold-Stacked Drillships

Offshore drilling giant Noble Corporation has announced its intention to divest two cold-stacked drillships in a move to eliminate costs associated with these units.

The rigs in question are the 2014-built Pacific Meltem and the 2011-built Pacific Scirocco. Noble Corporation aims to focus its resources on the existing marketed fleet and will prioritize the divestment of these two units.

Both drillships have been cold-stacked in Las Palmas for several years. The Pacific Scirocco last operated in Guinea in 2017, while the Pacific Meltem completed its last work in 2020.

Following the acquisition of Pacific Drilling in 2021, Noble Corporation took ownership of these rigs. As part of its strategic evaluation, the company has decided to retire these non-contributing assets, potentially through scrapping, to streamline its operations.

Robert W. Eifler, president and CEO of Noble Corporation, stated, “Our decision to retire these non-contributing assets is based on a continuous cost-benefit evaluation of idle capacity. These retirements will be immediately cash flow accretive and result in a leaner, fitter fleet composition for Noble going forward.”