Noble rigs’ $560 million drilling gigs push fleet backlog to $6.7 billion

U.S.-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation is fueling its fleet utilization uptick with multimillion-dollar drilling assignments off the coasts of Uruguay, Nigeria, Ghana, Peru, and Norway, enabling its total contract backlog to hit $6.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026.

With new contract wins of approximately $560 million awarded since the July fleet status report, Noble’s backlog as of October 26, 2026, stands at $6.7 billion, excluding mobilization and demobilization revenue.

The firm's fleet of 23 marketed floaters was 66% contracted during the third quarter compared with 64% in the prior quarter, while recent contract awards added around 44 months of new floater backlog, with leading edge day rates for Tier-1 drillships ranging between the mid-$400,000s and $500,000.

The utilization of Noble's five marketed ultra-harsh jack-ups was 86% in the third quarter versus 80% during the prior quarter, while latest contract awards brought approximately 26 months of new jack-up backlog, with leading edge day rates ranging between $230,000 and $300,000.

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