The Noble Corporation announced in its third-quarter results that its Ocean Endeavor rig has been handed additional work by UK supermajor Shell.
The London-based energy giant is conducting work on the field, north-east of Shetland, and this year the firm welcomed the Penguins floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel into UK waters.
Noble wrote: “The Ocean Endeavor has been awarded an additional 130 days with Shell in the UK North Sea.”
The field’s namesake FPSO is the first manned vessel built by Shell (LON:SHEL) in three decades.
Shell will transport oil produced from Penguins via tanker to refineries, with average peak production expected to be around 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The development will unlock 80 million barrels of oil, Shell said at the time of the investment decision in 2018, which would have otherwise been left stranded as Brent Charlie shut down.
© Supplied by Sevan SSPMeanwhile, gas will travel via the Far North Liquids and Associated Gas System (FLAGS) pipeline to the St Fergus gas terminal in northeast Scotland.
Alongside operator Shell, US supermajor Exxon Mobil holds a 50% interest in the Penguins field.
Discovered in 1974, the Penguins field is located 150 miles northeast of the Shetland.
First developed in 2002, oil and gas production from Penguins was originally tied back to the Brent Charlie prior to its decommissioning in 2017.
The London-listed supermajor’s project has encountered several setbacks, namely due to delays in the construction and transport of the field’s FPSO.
The Ocean Endeavor was owned by Diamond Drilling, however, in November Noble completed its acquisition of the firm.
Robert W. Eifler, president and chief executive of Noble, said: “We are excited to have closed on the Diamond acquisition during the third quarter, enabling us to start capturing the value from the transaction earlier than expected.”
Earnings up despite ‘muted near-term demand’
The firm shared that contract drilling services revenue jumped in the third quarter to $764 million, compared to the $661 million reported in the previous period.
The firm explained that this was “driven primarily by an approximate four weeks of contribution from the legacy Diamond fleet.”
Noble reported earnings before tax in the third quarter of $291 million an increase when compared to Q2’s $283 million.
The firm is also up year-on-year as it reported earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) of $271 million in the thrid quarter of 2023.
Eifler added: “Our strategy of pursuing rational and accretive growth in the high-end deepwater segment toward an ultimate objective of maximizing cash returns to shareholders is yielding tangible results, as evidenced by robust third quarter free cash flow and a sector leading dividend and buyback program.
“Despite a more muted near-term demand environment than we had envisioned coming into this year, Noble is uniquely well positioned to deliver customer and shareholder value through various market conditions.”
