Noble Corp plc

Part I

Overview

Noble Corporation plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. We provide contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry with our global fleet of mobile offshore drilling units. We focus on a high-specification fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of our drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921. As of December 31, 2024, our fleet of 40 drilling rigs consisted of 27 floaters and 13 jackups.

On September 30, 2022 (the “Merger Effective Date”), pursuant to a business combination agreement, dated November 10, 2021 (as amended, the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among Noble (as defined below), Noble Corporation, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (“Noble Cayman”), Noble Newco Sub Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Noble (“Merger Sub”), and The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S, a Danish public limited liability company (“Maersk Drilling”), Noble Cayman merged with and into Merger Sub (the “Merger”), with Merger Sub surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble. As a result of the Merger, Noble became the ultimate parent of Noble Cayman and its respective subsidiaries.

On October 3, 2022 (the “Closing Date”), pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, Noble completed a voluntary tender exchange offer to Maersk Drilling’s shareholders (the “Offer” and, together with the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, the “Business Combination”) and because Noble acquired more than 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of Maersk Drilling, nominal value Danish krone (“DKK”) 10 per share (“Maersk Drilling Shares”), Noble redeemed all remaining Maersk Drilling Shares not exchanged in the Offer for, at the election of the holder, either A ordinary shares, par value $0.00001 per share, of Noble (“Ordinary Shares”) or cash (or, for those holders that did not make an election, only cash), under Danish law by way of a compulsory purchase (the “Compulsory Purchase”) which was completed in early November 2022. Upon completion of the Compulsory Purchase, Maersk Drilling became a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble.

On June 9, 2024, Noble entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “Diamond Merger Agreement”) with Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (“Diamond”), Dolphin Merger Sub 1, Inc., and Dolphin Merger Sub 2, Inc., under which Noble would acquire Diamond in a stock plus cash transaction (the “Diamond Transaction”). On September 4, 2024 (the “Diamond Closing Date”), Noble completed its acquisition of Diamond.

For additional information, see “Note 2 — Acquisitions and Divestitures” to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As a result of the Merger, Noble became the successor issuer to Noble Cayman for purposes of and pursuant to the Exchange Act. References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “Noble,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer collectively to (i) Noble Cayman and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Merger Effective Date, (ii) Noble and its consolidated subsidiaries (including Noble Cayman) on and after the Merger Effective Date, and (iii) Noble and its consolidated subsidiaries on and after the Diamond Closing Date, as applicable.

Contract Drilling Services

We report our contract drilling operations as a single reportable segment, Contract Drilling Services, which reflects how we manage our business. The mobile offshore drilling units comprising our offshore rig fleet operate in a global market for contract drilling services and are often redeployed to different regions due to changing demands of our customers, which consist primarily of large, integrated, independent, and government-owned or controlled oil and gas companies throughout the world.

We typically provide contract drilling services under an individual contract on a dayrate basis. Each contract’s final terms and conditions are the result of negotiations with our customers, and many contracts are awarded through a competitive bidding process. The following terms generally describe the key aspects of our contracts:

•contract duration extending over a specific period of time or a period necessary to drill a defined number of wells;

•payment of compensation to us (generally in US dollars although some customers, typically national oil companies, require a part of the compensation to be paid in local currency) on a “daywork” basis, so that we receive a fixed amount for each day (“dayrate”) that the drilling unit is operating under contract (a lower rate or no compensation is payable during periods of equipment breakdown and repair or adverse weather or in the event operations are interrupted by other conditions, some of which may be beyond our control);

•provisions permitting early termination of the contract by the customer (i) if the unit is lost or destroyed, (ii) if operations are suspended for a specified period of time due to breakdown of equipment or breach of contract, or (iii) for convenience with the payment of contractually specified termination amounts;

•provisions allowing the impacted party to terminate the contract if specified “force majeure” events beyond the contracting parties’ control occur for a defined period of time;

•payment by us of the operating expenses of the drilling unit, including labor costs and the cost of incidental supplies;

•provisions that allow us to recover our mobilization and demobilization costs associated with moving a drilling unit from one regional location to another which, under certain market conditions, may not allow us to receive full reimbursement of such costs;

•provisions that allow us to recover certain cost increases from our customers in certain long-term contracts;

•provisions that require us to lower dayrates for documented cost decreases in certain long-term contracts; and

•provisions that allocate responsibility and liability through indemnification provisions for risks related to personal injury, property damage or loss, environmental damages, damage to the reservoir, and other matters.

Under our drilling contracts, liability with respect to personnel and property is typically assigned on a “knock-for-knock” basis, which means that we and our customers assume liability for our respective personnel and property, generally irrespective of the fault or negligence of the party indemnified. In addition, our customers may indemnify us in certain instances for damage to our down-hole equipment and, in some cases, our subsea equipment. Also, we generally obtain a mutual waiver of consequential losses in our drilling contracts.

Our customers typically assume responsibility for and indemnify us from loss or liability resulting from pollution or contamination, including third-party damages and clean-up and removal, arising from operations under the contract and originating below the surface of the water. We are generally responsible for pollution originating above the surface of the water and emanating from our drilling units. Additionally, our customers typically indemnify us for liabilities incurred as a result of a blow-out or cratering of the well and underground reservoir loss or damage. In the current market, we are under increasing pressure to accept exceptions to the above-described allocations of risk and, as a result, take on more risk. In such cases where we agree, we generally limit the exposure with a monetary cap and other restrictions.

During periods of depressed market conditions, our customers may attempt to renegotiate or repudiate their contracts with us although we seek to enforce our rights under our contracts. The renegotiation may include changes to key contract terms, such as pricing, termination, and risk allocation.

For a discussion of our backlog of commitments for contract drilling services, please read Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Contract Drilling Services Backlog.”

Drilling Fleet

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile, and technically advanced fleets of mobile offshore drilling units in the offshore drilling industry. Noble provides, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 40 offshore drilling units, consisting of 27 floaters and 13 jackups at the date of this report, focused largely on ultra-deepwater and harsh environment drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide. Each type of drilling rig is described further below. Several factors determine the type of unit most suitable for a particular job, the most significant of which include the water depth and the environment of the intended drilling location, whether the drilling is being done over a platform or other structure, and the intended well depth. At December 31, 2024, our fleet was operating in Africa, Far East Asia, the Middle East, the North Sea, Oceania, South America, and the US Gulf. Our fleet consists of the following types of mobile offshore drilling units:

Floaters. A drillship is a type of floating drilling unit that is based on the ship-based hull of the vessel and equipped with modern drilling equipment that gives it the capability of easily transitioning from various worldwide locations and carrying high capacities of equipment while being able to drill ultra-deepwater oil and gas wells in up to 12,000 feet of water. Drillships can stay directly over the drilling location without anchors in open seas using a dynamic positioning system

(“DPS”), which coordinates position references from satellite signals and acoustic seabed transponders with the drillship's six to eight thrusters to keep the ship directly over the well that is being drilled. Drillships are selected to drill oil and gas wells for programs that require a high level of simultaneous operations, where drilling loads are expected to be high, or where there are occurrences of high ocean currents, where the drillship's hull shape is the most efficient. Noble's fleet consists of 19 drillships capable of water depths from 10,000 feet to 12,000 feet.

Semisubmersible drilling units are designed as a floating drilling platform incorporating one or several pontoon hulls, which are submerged in the water to lower the center of gravity and make this type of drilling unit exceptionally stable in the open sea. Semisubmersible drilling units are generally categorized in terms of the water depth in which they are capable of operating, from the mid-water range of 300 feet to 4,000 feet, the deepwater range of 4,000 feet to 7,500 feet, to the ultra-deepwater range of 7,500 feet to 12,000 feet as well as by their generation, or date of construction. This type of drilling unit typically exhibits excellent stability characteristics, providing a stable platform for drilling in even rough seas. Semisubmersible drilling units hold their position over the drilling location using either an anchored mooring system or a DPS and may be self-propelled. Noble’s fleet consists of 8 moored ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling units.

Jackups. Jackup drilling units are designed to provide drilling solutions in depths ranging from less than 100 feet to as deep as 500 feet of water with drilling hook loads up to 2,500,000 pounds. Jackup rigs can be used in open water exploration locations, as well as over fixed, bottom-supported platforms. A jackup drilling unit is a towed mobile vessel consisting of a floating hull equipped with three or four legs, which are lowered to the seabed at the drilling location. The hull is then elevated out of the water by the jacking system using the legs to support the weight of the hull and drilling equipment against the seabed. Once the hull is elevated to the desired level, or jacked up, the drilling package can be extended out over an existing production platform or the open water location and drilling can commence. Noble’s fleet of 13 jackups consists of high-specification units capable of drilling in up to 500 feet of water.

The following table presents certain information concerning our offshore fleet at February 18, 2025. We own and operate all of the units included in the table.

(1)All of our current rigs were delivered to the Company new from the shipyard.

(2)Rated water depth for drillships and semisubmersibles reflects the maximum water depth for which a floating rig has been designed for drilling operations.

(3)Rigs listed as “active” are operating, preparing to operate, or under contract; rigs listed as “available” are actively seeking contracts and may include those that are idle or warm stacked; rigs listed as “stacked” are idle without a contract, have reduced or no crew, or are not actively marketed in present market conditions.

(4) In February 2025, we committed to a plan to sell the Pacific Meltem and Pacific Scirocco.

Market

The offshore contract drilling industry is a highly competitive and cyclical business. Demand for offshore drilling services is driven by the offshore exploration and development programs of oil and gas operators, which in turn are influenced by many factors. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the price and price stability of oil and gas, the relative cost and carbon footprint of offshore resources within each operator’s broader energy portfolio, global macroeconomic conditions, world energy demand, the operator’s strategy toward renewable energy sources, environmental considerations, and governmental policies.

In the provision of offshore contract drilling services, success in securing contracts is primarily governed by price, a rig’s availability, drilling capabilities and technical specifications, and the drilling contractor’s safety performance record. Other factors include experience of the workforce, process efficiency, condition of equipment, operating integrity, reputation, industry standing, and client relations.

We maintain a global operational presence and compete in many of the major offshore oil and gas basins worldwide with a primary focus on the deepwater and ultra-deepwater market and the harsh and ultra-harsh environment jackup and floater markets. All our drilling rigs are mobile, and we may reposition our drilling rigs among regions for a variety of reasons, including in response to customer requirements. We compete in both the jackup and floating rig markets, each of which may have different supply and demand dynamics at a given period in time or in different regions.

We have one of the youngest and highest specification fleets of global scale in the industry, with diversification across asset classes, geographic regions, and customers. The Company has a track record of industry-leading utilization, coupled with a commitment to best-in-class safety performance and customer satisfaction. We strive to be a leader in industry innovation and first-mover in sustainability.

The offshore drilling industry has historically experienced significant volatility and change. In recent years, however, oil prices have generally remained at levels that are supportive of offshore exploration and development activity. While ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic factors continue to create some uncertainty relating to future global energy demand, global offshore rig demand has generally remained robust since 2021. During 2023 and 2024, the total level of global floater and jackup demand exceeded 2020 early pre-pandemic highs, albeit with some moderation over the past 12 months as upstream capital discipline has resulted in a slight reduction in contracted offshore rig demand compared to early 2024 peak levels. As a result, utilization and leading edge dayrates for certain rig classes have recently plateaued or decreased. A further softening of utilization in 2025 could result in corresponding dayrate pressure in certain situations due to a more competitive bidding environment.

The global rig supply has come down from historic highs as Noble and other offshore drilling contractors have retired less capable and idle assets. Concurrently, the incoming supply of newbuild offshore drilling rigs has diminished materially, with several newbuild rigs stranded in shipyards. However, we expect many of these stranded newbuild rigs may continue to make their way into the global market over the next few years.

Although the market outlook in our business varies by geographical region and water depth, we remain encouraged by the long-term outlook in the ultra-deepwater floater market, with overall demand having increased from 2020 lows. Our customers continue to focus on our highest specification floaters, which represents the majority of our floater fleet. While we remain encouraged about overall rig demand, to the extent global macroeconomic concerns become more prevalent, we could experience downward pressure on oil and gas prices as well as overall rig demand for both floaters and jackups.

As of the date of this report, the majority of our jackup fleet is positioned in the North Sea. While we have seen generally stable demand in the UK and southern North Sea in recent years, overall activity levels in the region remain subdued compared to historical levels. Similarly, the ultra-harsh environment jackup market in Norway also remains below historical levels despite the market being attractive to operators given it is characterized by low-cost and low-emission barrels.

Returning to the broader offshore drilling market, while there are a number of multi-year contracts out for tender, the overall market remains characterized by generally shorter-term contracts. This leads to an increased number of rig contract start-ups, both with different customers and among different regions, which may require incremental resources and costs. Additionally, this has resulted in, and is likely to continue to result in, lower overall effective utilization for our fleet driven by more idle time between contracts.

The energy transition from hydrocarbons to renewables poses a challenge to the oil and gas sector and our market. Energy rebalancing trends have accelerated in recent years as evidenced by promulgated or proposed government policies and commitments by many of our customers to further invest in sustainable energy sources. Our industry could be further challenged as resource holders and policy makers continue to evaluate and calibrate strategies and capital flows to address global energy needs. Ultimately, however, there continues to be a global dependence on products made from hydrocarbons and on the combustion of hydrocarbons to provide reliable and affordable energy. Low-cost and low-emission barrels are expected to be the most attractive conventional source to meet energy needs both currently and in the future. Global energy demand is predicted to increase over the coming decades, and we expect that offshore oil and gas will continue to play an important and lasting role in meeting this demand.

While inflationary pressures in our industry have eased since 2023, our cost profile remains sensitive to global labor market conditions, capital intensive repair and maintenance scopes on our rigs, global trade and sanctions regimes, and geopolitical crises and their respective regional and global ramifications. Each of these factors has the potential to adversely impact our ability to conduct our day-to-day operations and manage costs.

Significant Customers

During the three years ended December 31, 2024, we principally conducted our contract drilling operations in Africa, Far East Asia, the Middle East, the North Sea, Oceania, South America, and the US Gulf. The following table sets forth revenues from our customers as a percentage of our consolidated operating revenues:

No other customer accounted for more than 10 percent of our consolidated operating revenues in 2024, 2023, or 2022.

Human Capital

At December 31, 2024, we had approximately 5,000 employees, excluding approximately 1,400 persons we engaged through labor contractors or agencies. Approximately 80% percent of our workforce is located offshore. Certain of our employees and contractors in international markets, such as Norway and Denmark, are represented by labor unions and work under collective bargaining or similar agreements, which are subject to periodic renegotiation, and we consider our employee relations to be satisfactory.

For additional information, please read Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors—Risk Related to Our Business and Operations—Unionization efforts, labor interruptions and labor regulations could have a material adverse effect on our operations.”

Our compliance program is focused on promoting adherence with high ethical standards and applicable laws and setting the tone for an ethical business practices and work environment throughout the Company. The Noble Code, Noble’s code of business conduct and ethics (the “Code of Conduct”), encompasses our commitments to our Core Values of safety, environmental stewardship, honesty and integrity, respect, and performance. The Code of Conduct also includes our responsibility and commitment to follow all applicable laws as well as our own internal policies, and extends requirements to any supplier or third party who works with Noble to comply with similar fundamental principles.

Operating our business in a socially responsible way is integral to our identity. Internally, our employee-focused programs, such as training and continuing education, our promotion and advancement program, focus on inclusion and culture, recruitment initiatives, and retirement and benefits, are key to our commitment to the personal and professional growth of our workforce. Externally, our dedication is evidenced by our affiliations and how we contribute to and invest in the communities where we operate.

Talent Management. Noble is committed to a number of initiatives that directly support our employee talent management. As part of these initiatives, Noble is committed to the promotion of equal opportunity and non-discrimination and aspires to not only promote an environment and culture of inclusion, but also provide healthy working conditions that enable our employees to reach their full potential.

In order to enable regular feedback loops and a continuous focus on employee engagement, we implement semi-annual Employee Engagement Surveys, results of which are shared with the organization and leaders engage their teams in a conversation regarding the results and subsequent actions. Noble also focuses on enabling performance through continuous conversations between the leader and the employee. The conversations are intended to take place at least twice a year and follow a structured framework pertaining to contributions, engagement, and development, and incorporate two-way feedback.

We also identify high-performing and high-potential individuals within Noble and aspire to ensure succession planning regarding all critical positions. We focus on engagement and retention of such individuals by aspiring to offer experiences and opportunities that demonstrate our commitment to their ongoing growth.

Safety and Environmental Stewardship. Noble is committed to operating with excellent health, safety, and environmental (“HSE”) performance as part of our business strategy in order to add further value for employees, customers, and shareholders. All personnel, regardless of job or position onboard our vessels or at any Noble facility, has the authorization and obligation to immediately stop any unsafe act, practice, or job that poses an unaddressed or unreasonable risk or danger to people or the environment. Noble’s pursuit of exceptional HSE performance begins with our strong corporate culture and by starting SAFE every day: one tour, one task and one person at a time. SAFE is an acronym for the phrase: follow Standards, be Accountable, stay Focused, achieve Excellence. Daily, the crew onboard each rig works together to achieve specific safety and environmental objectives and if all objectives are met, then the day is counted as a SAFE Day. Under our SAFE Day program, in 2024, our rigs achieved the SAFE objectives 98.6% of available days, which has remained flat compared to 2023 performance. As of December 31, 2024, this metric is only available for vessels owned by Noble prior to the Diamond Transaction. As integration activities are completed throughout 2025, all current Noble vessels will utilize this program.

Training and Continuing Education. We place considerable value on the training and development of our employees. Accordingly, we conduct formal and informal meetings with employees, regular executive-led podcasts, issue periodic publications of Company activities, and other matters of interest to the Company’s OneNoble app and offer a variety of training, including in-house through NobleAdvances, our state-of-the-art training facility in Texas. Noble has learned that technical skills are not enough to keep pace in our fast-changing offshore environments. NobleAdvances allows us to deliver scenario-based drilling and marine training with a strong focus on communication, biases, and emergency decision making. This approach is designed to enable Noble employees to execute our procedures effectively and solve complex technical problems in challenging offshore conditions.

Environmental Responsibility

Climate change is an environmental, social, and economic challenge facing everyone today. We are committed to continuous improvement and a sustainable energy future supported by our efforts to protect the environment throughout our operations and safely provide reliable and efficient services to allow access to resources essential for human and economic prosperity. There is ongoing attention concerning the global climate and the effect of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. Various regulators have proposed or adopted rules requiring the monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions from specified sources in the United States, including, among other things, certain offshore activities relating to oil and gas production. As such, we regularly assess the environmental impact of operations, focusing on the reduction of GHG emissions, operational discharges, water use, and waste. Furthermore, we actively look to collaborate with our customers to evaluate economic alternatives for reducing the carbon footprint of our drilling rigs.

Available Information

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge at our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Our website address is http://www.noblecorp.com. Investors should also note that we announce material financial information in SEC filings, press releases, and public conference calls. Based on guidance from the SEC, we may use the investor relations section of our website to communicate with our investors. It is possible that the financial and other information (including fleet status reports) posted there could be deemed to be material information. Noble may also use social media channels including, but not limited to, Noble's accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to communicate with investors and the public about its business, services, and other matters, and those communications could be deemed to be material information. Documents and information on our website or our social media channels are not incorporated by reference herein.