Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) announced that it has reached an agreement with its customer Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC and its parent company, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. for the early termination of the drilling contracts for two of its drillships.
Contacts for the drillships – Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden – were due to terminate in Jul and Nov 2017, respectively. Per the settlement and termination agreement, Noble Corp. is expected to receive the full settlement value of $540 million by the end of Jun 2016. The company is also entitled to collect contingent payments of about $75 million depending upon the average price of crude oil (WTI) over a 12 month period, beginning Jun 30, 2016.
Noble Corp. provides diversified services for the oil and gas industry. The company performs contract drilling services along with providing labor contract drilling, engineering and consulting, and project management services. The company offers its services in the United States, the Middle East, India, Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, and West Africa.
Noble Corp. is a leading offshore drilling firm with a robust portfolio of assets. Though the industry has witnessed a setback in the past few months, the company is likely to be less impacted by it than its peers. This is because Noble Corp. enjoys a strong backlog position ($8.1 billion).
Noble Corp. remains on track to upgrade its fleet through acquisitions and newbuild projects. Moreover, it continues to benefit from its robust position in the ultra-deepwater market.
Noble Corp. carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players from the energy sector are CVR Refining, LP (NYSE:CVRR) , Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) . Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
SASOL LTD -ADR (SSL): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOBLE CORP PLC (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report
RENESOLA LT-ADR (SOL): Free Stock Analysis Report
CVR REFINING LP (CVRR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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