NE $50.48 29-years contract?!!
UPDATE 1-Noble signs for $4 bln in Brazil rig contracts
Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:58am EDT
HOUSTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Noble Corp (NE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding for contracts possibly worth $4 billion with Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) (PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), sending the shares of the offshore oil and gas drilling contractor up almost 5 percent.
Under the planned contracts which have a combined total length of 29 years, five deepwater drilling rigs currently operating off Brazil would extend their work for Petrobras, bringing Noble's total backlog to more than $10 billion.
Brazil is seen as a hot market for oilfield service companies as state oil company Petrobras will need to spend heavily to develop complex offshore fields including its massive Tupi find in the Santos basin.
Under the proposed deal, the Noble Paul Wolff, a dynamically positioned semisubmersible rig, will have a dayrate of $490,000, up from its prior rate of $163,000 to $165,000.
Another semisubmersible, the Noble Therald Martin, will be booked at a rate of $295,000 per day, up from $113,000 to $115,000.
Upon completion of upgrades, the drill ship Noble Roger Eason will go to work for a dayrate of about $400,000, up from $136,000 to $138,000.
The Noble Leo Segerius drill ship will be booked at a rate of $345,000 per day, up from current rates of $123,000 to $125,000, and the Noble Muravlenko won a contract for about $330,000 per day, up from $119,000 to $121,000.
Shares of the Sugar Land, Texas-based company were up $2.14, or 4.5 percent, to $50.19 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Additional reporting by Matt Daily in New York) (Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston, editing by Mark Porter)
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