Noble Corporation to Retire Two Drillships

Pacific Meltem drillship (Credit: Noble Corporation)

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has outlined plans to divest the cold stacked drillships Pacific Meltem and Pacific Scirocco, permanently retiring the units from drilling operations.

Noble Corporation said the decision was made to eliminate costs related to these units and prioritize resources on the existing marketed fleet.

The company intends to divest these units in a manner which would effectively retire them permanently from drilling operation, including potentially scrapping the units.

"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,” said Robert W. Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble Corporation.