Paragon offshore use to be NOBLE drilling.
Start-up spirit. Established experience.
The best of both worlds.
Paragon Offshore became an independent company on August 1, 2014, but we have a heritage that goes back nearly 100 years.
In 1921, Lloyd Noble formed a partnership with Art Olsen to start a land drilling business in Oklahoma. Art and Lloyd eventually parted ways, and Lloyd kept growing the drilling business. During the Great Depression, when some customers lacked cash to pay for his services, Noble Drilling accepted production from wells as a form of payment. Lloyd formed a producing company named “Samedan Oil Corporation” after his three children (Sam, Ed and Ann), that would eventually go on to become Noble Energy.
As the drilling business grew, Noble Drilling expanded offshore, drilling the first well off the Atlantic coast in North Carolina and commencing operation in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
In 1981, Noble Drilling built its first newbuild jackup units, the Noble Ed Holt (Paragon L1112) and the Noble Sam Noble (Paragon L1114). Both units continue to be in operation today – a testament to the ongoing programs undertaken by Noble to maintain and upgrade their rigs.
The fleet continued to grow through the acquisition of companies like Bawden, Transworld, Western, Chiles and Neddrill, as well as one-off units. Noble also expanded into deeper waters in both the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.
In 2005, Noble began a newbuild program designed to modernize the fleet. The company also acquired Frontier Drilling in 2010 with its combination of newbuild high specification units and existing standard specification units.
In September 2013, after comprehensive consideration, Noble announced that it would create a separate standard specification drilling company. This company, which became Paragon Offshore, would operate standard specification shallow water, midwater and deepwater assets, while Noble would retain the high specification and ultradeepwater units.
The separation of Noble’s then-current fleet would enable each company to have a more focused business strategy, enhance growth potential and overall valuation of assets, be more responsive to the needs of customers and better attract and retain employees.
Paragon is proud of its heritage. Many of our employees have already enjoyed long careers with Noble and bring with them the dedication and focus on quality and safety that have always been the hallmarks of Noble. New Paragon employees are discovering that we have retained the best of Noble’s processes and culture while at the same time begun working to forge a culture that will be uniquely ours. Meanwhile our customers have discovered that while the logo on our coveralls and hard hats may have changed, our commitment to delivering safe, reliable and efficient operations will never change.
Here’s to the future
It's a sick world and i'm a happy man
