Offshore drilling giant Noble Corporation recently released its financial results for the second quarter of 2026. During the period, the company generated revenue of $679 million—a decline of approximately 8.6% from the previous quarter’s $743 million—and recorded a net loss of $37 million, contrasting with a net profit of $121 million in the first quarter.
Noble attributed this performance decline to the suspension of operations for two rigs deployed in Brazil—the “Noble Faye Kozack” and the “Noble Courage”—which negatively impacted both revenue and rig utilization rates, as well as the expiration of the contract for the “Noble Globetrotter I” rig, which was deployed in the Black Sea.
The ultra-deepwater drilling vessel “Noble Faye Kozack” and the semi-submersible drilling rig “Noble Courage”, built in 2013 and 2009, respectively, had previously been in service with Petrobras. Prior to the suspension of operations, the drilling vessel’s contract was originally scheduled to run through January 2027, while the semi-submersible drilling rig’s contract was set to expire in December 2030.
As a result, during the reporting period, the equipment utilization rate of Noble’s 29 active drilling rigs declined from 68% in the first quarter to 64%.
Despite a decline in quarterly earnings, Noble believes the offshore drilling market remains strong, particularly in terms of demand for high-specification drilling vessels; the shortage of available vessels has pushed daily charter rates for high-end drilling vessels into the mid-$400,000 range.
Commenting on the second-quarter results, Robert Eifler, President and CEO of Noble, stated: “While second-quarter results were negatively impacted by $43 million due to the suspension of operations for two of the company’s rigs in Brazil, overall operational and financial performance remained strong.”
During the reporting period, Noble secured approximately $200 million in new contract value, involving the “Noble Viking” and “Noble Claus Bachmann”. As of the end of June, Noble’s total contract backlog stood at $6.8 billion.