UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
   
þ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended: JuneSeptember 30, 2011
OR
   
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                    to                    
Commission file number: 000-53604
NOBLE CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
   
Switzerland 98-0619597
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. employer identification number)
Dorfstrasse 19A, Baar, Switzerland 6340
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code:41 (41) 761-65-55
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
   
Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered
   
Shares, Par Value 3.673.54 CHF per Share New York Stock Exchange
Commission file number: 001-31306
NOBLE CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
   
Cayman Islands
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 98-0366361
(I.R.S. employer identification number)
Suite 3D, Landmark Square, 64 Earth Close, P.O. Box 31327 George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, KY1-1206
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code:(345) 938-0293
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:None
Indicate by check mark whether each registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yesþ Noo
Indicate by check mark whether each registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yesþ Noo
Indicate by check mark whether each registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
         
Noble-Swiss: Large accelerated filerþAccelerated filero AcceleratedNon-accelerated filero Non-accelerated fileroSmaller reporting companyo
Noble-Cayman: Large accelerated fileroAccelerated filero AcceleratedNon-accelerated fileroþ Non-accelerated filerþSmaller reporting companyo
Indicate by check mark whether each registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yeso Noþ
Number of shares outstanding and trading at July 29,October 28, 2011: Noble Corporation (Switzerland) — 252,390,953252,437,480
Number of shares outstanding at July 29,October 28, 2011: Noble Corporation (Cayman Islands) — 261,245,693
Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation, meets the conditions set forth in General Instructions H(1) (a) and (b) toForm 10-Q and is therefore filing thisForm 10-Q with the reduced disclosure format contemplated by paragraphs (b) and (c) of General Instruction H(2) ofForm 10-Q.10-Q.
 
 

 

 


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
     
  Page 
    
     
    
     
Noble Corporation (Noble-Swiss) Financial Statements:
    
     
  3 
     
  4 
     
  5 
     
  6 
     
  7 
     
Noble Corporation (Noble-Cayman) Financial Statements:
    
     
  8 
     
  9 
     
  10 
     
  11 
     
  12 
     
  13 
     
  3938 
     
  5657 
     
  5758 
     
    
     
  5859 
     
  5859 
     
  5960 
     
  5960 
     
  6061 
     
  6162 
     
 Exhibit 3.1
 Exhibit 31.1
 Exhibit 31.2
 Exhibit 31.3
Exhibit 32.1
 Exhibit 32.2
Exhibit 32.3
 EX-101 INSTANCE DOCUMENT
 EX-101 SCHEMA DOCUMENT
 EX-101 CALCULATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
 EX-101 LABELS LINKBASE DOCUMENT
 EX-101 PRESENTATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
 EX-101 DEFINITION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
This combined Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is separately filed by Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation (“Noble-Swiss”), and Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company (“Noble-Cayman”). Information in this filing relating to Noble-Cayman is filed by Noble-Swiss and separately by Noble-Cayman on its own behalf. Noble-Cayman makes no representation as to information relating to Noble-Swiss (except as it may relate to Noble-Cayman) or any other affiliate or subsidiary of Noble-Swiss. Since Noble-Cayman meets the conditions specified in General Instructions H(1)(a) and (b) to Form 10-Q, it is permitted to use the reduced disclosure format for wholly owned subsidiaries of reporting companies. Accordingly, Noble-Cayman has omitted from this report the information called for by Item 3 (Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk) of Part I of Form 10-Q and the following items of Part II of Form 10-Q: Item 2 (Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds) and Item 3 (Defaults upon Senior Securities).
This report should be read in its entirety as it pertains to each Registrant. Except where indicated, the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes are combined. References in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to “Noble,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and words of similar meaning refer collectively to Noble-Swiss and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Noble-Cayman.

 

2


PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. 
Financial Statements
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                
 June 30, December 31,  September 30, December 31, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
ASSETS
  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents $230,877 $337,871  $197,015 $337,871 
Accounts receivable 510,019 387,414  601,161 387,414 
Taxes receivable 80,815 81,066  57,335 81,066 
Prepaid expenses 67,311 35,502  61,166 35,502 
Other current assets 88,474 69,941  84,767 69,941 
          
Total current assets 977,496 911,794  1,001,444 911,794 
          
  
Property and equipment, at cost 13,926,052 12,643,866  14,420,267 12,643,866 
Accumulated depreciation  (2,863,482)  (2,595,779)  (2,999,235)  (2,595,779)
          
Property and equipment, net 11,062,570 10,048,087  11,421,032 10,048,087 
     
      
Other assets 398,172 342,506  529,057 342,506 
          
Total assets
 $12,438,238 $11,302,387  $12,951,533 $11,302,387 
          
  
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
  
Current liabilities  
Current maturities of long-term debt $ $80,213  $ $80,213 
Accounts payable 303,902 374,814  320,053 374,814 
Accrued payroll and related costs 114,736 125,663  124,317 125,663 
Interest payable 58,328 40,260  22,129 40,260 
Taxes payable 69,764 96,448  89,700 96,448 
Other current liabilities 79,826 84,049  93,651 84,049 
          
Total current liabilities 626,556 801,447  649,850 801,447 
          
 
Long-term debt 3,521,770 2,686,484  3,811,866 2,686,484 
Deferred income taxes 257,069 258,822  299,625 258,822 
Other liabilities 212,475 268,000  218,523 268,000 
          
Total liabilities
 4,617,870 4,014,753  4,979,864 4,014,753 
          
  
Commitments and contingencies  
  
Shareholders’ equity  
Shares; 262,668 and 262,415 shares outstanding 857,795 917,684 
Treasury shares, at cost; 10,378 and 10,140 shares  (383,344)  (373,967)
Shares; 252,718 and 262,415 shares outstanding 796,067 917,684 
Treasury shares, at cost; 285 and 10,140 shares  (10,531)  (373,967)
Additional paid-in capital 50,499 39,006  49,010 39,006 
Retained earnings 6,739,078 6,630,500  6,549,441 6,630,500 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (42,316)  (50,220)  (56,212)  (50,220)
          
Total shareholders’ equity
 7,221,712 7,163,003  7,327,775 7,163,003 
     
       
Noncontrolling interests 598,656 124,631  643,894 124,631 
          
Total equity
 7,820,368 7,287,634  7,971,669 7,287,634 
          
Total liabilities and equity
 $12,438,238 $11,302,387  $12,951,533 $11,302,387 
         ��
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

3


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
                                
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
Operating revenues
  
Contract drilling services $589,550 $687,510 $1,132,155 $1,496,156  $704,892 $584,919 $1,837,047 $2,081,075 
Reimbursables 24,122 13,753 46,413 37,986  17,438 19,177 63,851 57,163 
Labor contract drilling services 14,012 8,056 27,559 15,817  15,564 7,887 43,123 23,704 
Other 313 603 758 814  8 635 766 1,449 
                  
 627,997 709,922 1,206,885 1,550,773  737,902 612,618 1,944,787 2,163,391 
                  
Operating costs and expenses
  
Contract drilling services 336,728 275,595 643,091 530,026  358,547 315,844 1,001,638 845,870 
Reimbursables 18,723 10,365 35,826 30,108  13,971 14,351 49,797 44,459 
Labor contract drilling services 8,750 5,380 17,273 11,268  8,053 5,302 25,326 16,570 
Depreciation and amortization 163,119 126,227 321,241 242,084  166,213 143,282 487,454 385,366 
Selling, general and administrative 21,632 23,808 45,347 45,779  27,536 25,482 72,883 71,261 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net    (21,202)      (21,202)  
                  
 548,952 441,375 1,041,576 859,265  574,320 504,261 1,615,896 1,363,526 
                  
  
Operating income
 79,045 268,547 165,309 691,508  163,582 108,357 328,891 799,865 
  
Other income (expense)
  
Interest expense, net of amount capitalized  (14,829)  (510)  (33,870)  (975)  (11,530)  (4,144)  (45,400)  (5,119)
Interest income and other, net  (534) 1,006 2,058 4,632  1,117 2,561 3,175 7,193 
                  
Income before income taxes
 63,682 269,043 133,497 695,165  153,169 106,774 286,666 801,939 
Income tax provision  (9,508)  (51,118)  (24,867)  (106,514)  (17,614)  (20,287)  (42,481)  (126,801)
                  
Net income
 54,174 217,925 108,630 588,651  135,555 86,487 244,185 675,138 
          
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests  (91)   (52)    (238)  (467)  (290)  (467)
                  
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $54,083 $217,925 $108,578 $588,651  $135,317 $86,020 $243,895 $674,671 
                  
  
Net income per share
  
Basic $0.21 $0.85 $0.43 $2.29  $0.53 $0.34 $0.96 $2.63 
Diluted $0.21 $0.85 $0.43 $2.28  $0.53 $0.34 $0.96 $2.62 
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.statements.

 

4


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                
 Six Months Ended  Nine Months Ended 
 June 30,  September 30, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
Cash flows from operating activities
  
Net income $108,630 $588,651  $244,185 $675,138 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:  
Depreciation and amortization 321,241 242,084  487,454 385,366 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net  (21,202)    (21,202)  
Deferred income taxes  (1,753)  (11,842)  (34,549)  (29,586)
Share-based compensation expense 16,388 16,285  26,857 26,906 
Net change in other assets and liabilities  (177,968) 179,246   (228,299) 227,873 
          
Net cash from operating activities 245,336 1,014,424  474,446 1,285,697 
          
  
Cash flows from investing activities
  
Capital expenditures  (1,428,783)  (531,401)  (1,987,988)  (886,093)
Change in accrued capital expenditures  (51,500)  (17,848)  (48,782) 4,213 
Refund from contract extinguishments 18,642   18,642  
Acquisition of FDR Holdings, Ltd., net of cash acquired   (1,629,644)
          
Net cash from investing activities  (1,461,641)  (549,249)  (2,018,128)  (2,511,524)
          
  
Cash flows from financing activities
  
Borrowings on bank credit facilities 625,000  
Payments of bank credit facilities  (240,000)  
Increase in bank credit facilities, net 675,000  
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net of debt issuance costs 1,087,833   1,087,833 1,238,074 
Contributions from joint venture partners 436,000   481,000 35,000 
Payments of joint venture debt  (693,494)    (693,494)  
Settlement of interest rate swaps  (29,032)    (29,032)  (2,041)
Par value reduction payments  (72,141)  (23,306)  (114,453)  (193,869)
Financing costs on credit facilities  (2,835)    (2,835)  
Proceeds from employee stock transactions 7,357 3,711  9,018 9,703 
Repurchases of employee shares surrendered for taxes  (9,377)  (9,309)  (10,211)  (9,961)
Repurchases of shares   (88,652)   (219,330)
          
Net cash from financing activities 1,109,311  (117,556) 1,402,826 857,576 
          
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  (106,994) 347,619   (140,856)  (368,251)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
 337,871 735,493  337,871 735,493 
          
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
 $230,877 $1,083,112  $197,015 $367,242 
          
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

5


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                                                                
 Additional Other      Accumulated     
 Shares Paid-in Retained Treasury Comprehensive Noncontrolling Total  Additional Other     
 Shares Paid-in Retained Treasury Comprehensive Noncontrolling Total 
 Balance Par Value Capital Earnings Shares Loss Interests Equity 
 
Balance at December 31, 2009
 261,975 $1,130,607 $ $5,855,737 $(143,031) $(54,881) $ $6,788,432 
 
Employee related equity activity 
Share-based compensation expense   26,906     26,906 
Issuance of share-based compensation shares 77 335  (335)      
Contribution to employee benefit plans 8 30 194     224 
Exercise of stock options 447 1,762 7,717     9,479 
Tax benefit of stock options exercised   5,556     5,556 
Restricted shares forfeited or repurchased for taxes  (183)  (804) 960 1,335  (11,452)    (9,961)
Repurchases of shares      (219,330)    (219,330)
Net income    674,671   467 675,138 
Par value reduction payments   (184,220)  (9,648)  (1)     (193,869)
Noncontrolling interests from FDR Holdings, Ltd. acquisition       124,628 124,628 
Other comprehensive income, net       (6,113)   (6,113)
                 
Balance at September 30, 2010
 262,324 $947,710 $31,350 $6,531,742 $(373,813) $(60,994) $125,095 $7,201,090 
 Balance Par Value Capital Earnings Shares Loss Interests Equity                  
  
Balance at December 31, 2010
 262,415 $917,684 $39,006 $6,630,500 $(373,967) $(50,220) $124,631 $7,287,634  262,415 $917,684 $39,006 $6,630,500 $(373,967) $(50,220) $124,631 $7,287,634 
  
Employee related equity activity  
Share-based compensation expense   16,388     16,388    26,857     26,857 
Issuance of share-based compensation shares 176 606  (599)     7  248 844  (837)     7 
Exercise of stock options 389 1,294 5,782     7,076  490 1,629 7,104     8,733 
Tax benefit of stock options exercised   274     274    278     278 
  
Restricted shares forfeited or repurchased for taxes  (312)  (1,084) 1,084   (9,377)    (9,377)  (319)  (1,107) 1,107   (10,211)    (10,211)
Retirement of treasury shares  (10,116)  (33,035)   (340,612) 373,647    
Settlement of FIN 48 provision    15,658    15,658 
Net income    108,578   52 108,630     243,895   290 244,185 
Equity contribution by joint venture partner       473,973 473,973        518,973 518,973 
Par value reduction payments ($0.29 per Share)   (60,705)  (11,436)      (72,141)
Par value reduction payments   (89,948)  (24,505)      (114,453)
Other comprehensive income, net      7,904  7,904        (5,992)   (5,992)
                                  
Balance at June 30, 2011
 262,668 $857,795 $50,499 $6,739,078 $(383,344) $(42,316) $598,656 $7,820,368 
Balance at September 30, 2011
 252,718 $796,067 $49,010 $6,549,441 $(10,531) $(56,212) $643,894 $7,971,669 
                                  
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

6


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                                
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
   
Net income
 $54,174 $217,925 $108,630 $588,651  $135,555 $86,487 $244,185 $675,138 
  
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
  
Foreign currency translation adjustments 1,375  (1,980) 4,382  (6,461)  (4,929) 4,198  (547)  (2,263)
Gain (loss) on foreign currency forward contracts 2,351  (1,009) 2,513  (2,934)  (9,654) 4,762  (7,141) 1,828 
Loss on interest rate swaps    (366)     (7,586)  (366)  (7,586)
Amortization of deferred pension plan amounts 689 634 1,375 1,273  687 634 2,062 1,908 
                  
Other comprehensive income (loss), net 4,415  (2,355) 7,904  (8,122)  (13,896) 2,008  (5,992)  (6,113)
                  
  
Net comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests  (91)   (52)    (238)  (467)  (290)  (467)
                  
  
Comprehensive income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $58,498 $215,570 $116,482 $580,529  $121,421 $88,028 $237,903 $668,558 
                  
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.statements.

 

7


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
        
         September 30, December 31, 
 June 30, December 31,  2011 2010 
 2011 2010  
ASSETS
  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents $224,917 $333,399  $192,005 $333,399 
Accounts receivable 509,986 387,414  601,161 387,414 
Taxes receivable 80,815 81,066  57,335 81,066 
Prepaid expenses 64,677 33,232  57,531 33,232 
Other current assets 88,035 69,821  82,690 69,821 
          
Total current assets 968,430 904,932  990,722 904,932 
          
  
Property and equipment, at cost 13,892,227 12,614,974  14,386,421 12,614,974 
Accumulated depreciation  (2,859,227)  (2,594,954)  (2,994,486)  (2,594,954)
          
Property and equipment, net 11,033,000 10,020,020  11,391,935 10,020,020 
     
      
Other assets 398,255 342,592  529,141 342,592 
          
Total assets
 $12,399,685 $11,267,544  $12,911,798 $11,267,544 
          
  
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
  
Current liabilities  
Current maturities of long-term debt $ $80,213  $ $80,213 
Accounts payable 303,617 374,559  319,888 374,559 
Accrued payroll and related costs 105,386 120,634  112,902 120,634 
Interest payable 58,328 40,260  22,129 40,260 
Taxes payable 66,764 94,132  86,321 94,132 
Other current liabilities 79,277 83,759  93,184 83,759 
          
Total current liabilities 613,372 793,557  634,424 793,557 
          
  
Long-term debt 3,521,770 2,686,484  3,811,866 2,686,484 
Deferred income taxes 257,069 258,822  299,625 258,822 
Other liabilities 212,475 268,026  218,523 268,026 
          
Total liabilities
 4,604,686 4,006,889  4,964,438 4,006,889 
          
  
Commitments and contingencies  
  
Shareholder equity 
Shareholders’ equity 
Ordinary shares; 261,246 shares outstanding 26,125 26,125  26,125 26,125 
Capital in excess of par value 426,460 416,232  447,040 416,232 
Retained earnings 6,786,074 6,743,887  6,886,513 6,743,887 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (42,316)  (50,220)  (56,212)  (50,220)
          
Total shareholder equity
 7,196,343 7,136,024 
     
Total shareholders’ equity
 7,303,466 7,136,024 
      
Noncontrolling interests 598,656 124,631  643,894 124,631 
          
Total equity
 7,794,999 7,260,655  7,947,360 7,260,655 
          
Total liabilities and equity
 $12,399,685 $11,267,544  $12,911,798 $11,267,544 
          
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

8


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                                
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
Operating revenues
  
Contract drilling services $589,550 $687,510 $1,132,155 $1,496,156  $704,892 $584,919 $1,837,047 $2,081,075 
Reimbursables 24,122 13,753 46,413 37,986  17,438 19,177 63,851 57,163 
Labor contract drilling services 14,012 8,056 27,559 15,817  15,564 7,887 43,123 23,704 
Other 313 603 758 814  8 635 766 1,449 
                  
 627,997 709,922 1,206,885 1,550,773  737,902 612,618 1,944,787 2,163,391 
                  
Operating costs and expenses
  
Contract drilling services 330,204 271,084 631,036 523,865  349,626 315,787 980,662 839,652 
Reimbursables 18,723 10,365 35,826 30,108  13,971 14,351 49,797 44,459 
Labor contract drilling services 8,750 5,380 17,273 11,268  8,053 5,302 25,326 16,570 
Depreciation and amortization 162,636 126,052 320,291 241,716  165,719 143,059 486,010 384,775 
Selling, general and administrative 14,642 15,534 31,173 31,422  17,637 16,715 48,810 48,137 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net    (21,202)      (21,202)  
                  
 534,955 428,415 1,014,397 838,379  555,006 495,214 1,569,403 1,333,593 
                  
 
Operating income
 93,042 281,507 192,488 712,394  182,896 117,404 375,384 829,798 
  
Other income (expense)
  
Interest expense, net of amount capitalized  (14,829)  (510)  (33,870)  (975)  (11,530)  (4,147)  (45,400)  (5,122)
Interest income and other, net  (147) 1,503 2,094 5,110  1,884 1,210 3,978 6,320 
                  
Income before income taxes
 78,066 282,500 160,712 716,529  173,250 114,467 333,962 830,996 
Income tax provision  (9,157)  (49,543)  (24,182)  (104,939)  (17,298)  (19,401)  (41,480)  (124,340)
                  
Net income
 68,909 232,957 136,530 611,590  155,952 95,066 292,482 706,656 
          
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests  (91)   (52)    (238)  (467)  (290)  (467)
                  
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $68,818 $232,957 $136,478 $611,590  $155,714 $94,599 $292,192 $706,189 
                  
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

9


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                
 Six Months Ended  Nine Months Ended 
 June 30,  September 30, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
Cash flows from operating activities
  
Net income $136,530 $611,590  $292,482 $706,656 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:  
Depreciation and amortization 320,291 241,716  486,010 384,775 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net  (21,202)    (21,202)  
Deferred income taxes  (1,753)  (11,843)  (34,549)  (29,586)
Capital contribution by parent — share-based compensation 10,228 10,301  15,150 15,519 
Net change in other assets and liabilities  (185,049) 174,670   (235,017) 203,384 
          
Net cash from operating activities 259,045 1,026,434  502,874 1,280,748 
          
  
Cash flows from investing activities
  
Capital expenditures  (1,423,850)  (531,033)  (1,983,034)  (885,623)
Change in accrued capital expenditures  (51,500)  (17,848)  (48,782) 4,213 
Refund from contract extinguishments 18,642   18,642  
Acquisition of FDR Holdings, Ltd., net of cash acquired   (1,629,644)
          
Net cash from investing activities  (1,456,708)  (548,881)  (2,013,174)  (2,511,054)
          
  
Cash flows from financing activities
  
Borrowings on bank credit facilities 625,000  
Payments of bank credit facilities  (240,000)  
Increase in bank credit facilities, net 675,000  
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net of debt issuance costs 1,087,833   1,087,833 1,238,074 
Contributions from joint venture partners 436,000   481,000 35,000 
Payments of joint venture debt  (693,494)    (693,494)  
Settlement of interest rate swaps  (29,032)    (29,032)  (2,041)
Financing costs on credit facilities  (2,835)    (2,835)  
Distributions to parent company, net  (94,291)  (128,315)  (149,566)  (422,537)
          
Net cash from financing activities 1,089,181  (128,315) 1,368,906 848,496 
          
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  (108,482) 349,238   (141,394)  (381,810)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
 333,399 726,225  333,399 726,225 
          
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
 $224,917 $1,075,463  $192,005 $344,415 
          
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

 

10


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                                                        
 Accumulated      Accumulated     
 Capital in Other      Capital in Other     
 Shares Excess of Retained Comprehensive Noncontrolling Total  Shares Excess of Retained Comprehensive Noncontrolling Total 
 Balance Par Value Par Value Earnings Loss Interests Equity 
Balance at December 31, 2009
 261,246 $26,125 $368,374 $6,609,578 $(54,881) $ $6,949,196 
Net income    706,189  467 706,656 
Capital contributions by parent — share-based compensation   15,519    15,519 
Distributions to parent     (422,537)    (422,537)
Noncontrolling interests from FDR Holdings, Ltd. acquisition      124,628 124,628 
Other comprehensive income (loss), net      (6,113)   (6,113)
               
Balance at September 30, 2010
 261,246 $26,125 $383,893 $6,893,230 $(60,994) $125,095 $7,367,349 
 Balance Par Value Par Value Earnings Loss Interests Equity                
  
Balance at December 31, 2010
 261,246 $26,125 $416,232 $6,743,887 $(50,220) $124,631 $7,260,655  261,246 $26,125 $416,232 $6,743,887 $(50,220) $124,631 $7,260,655 
Net income    136,478  52 136,530     292,192  290 292,482 
Capital contributions by parent — share-based compensation   10,228    10,228    15,150    15,150 
Distributions to parent     (94,291)    (94,291)     (149,566)    (149,566)
Settlement of FIN 48 provision   15,658    15,658 
Noncontrolling interest contributions      473,973 473,973       518,973 518,973 
Other comprehensive income, net     7,904  7,904 
Other comprehensive income (loss), net      (5,992)   (5,992)
                              
Balance at June 30, 2011
 261,246 $26,125 $426,460 $6,786,074 $(42,316) $598,656 $7,794,999 
Balance at September 30, 2011
 261,246 $26,125 $447,040 $6,886,513 $(56,212) $643,894 $7,947,360 
                              
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.statements.

 

11


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
                                
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
   
Net income
 $68,909 $232,957 $136,530 $611,590  $155,952 $95,066 $292,482 $706,656 
  
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
  
Foreign currency translation adjustments 1,375  (1,980) 4,382  (6,461)  (4,929) 4,198  (547)  (2,263)
Gain (loss) on foreign currency forward contracts 2,351  (1,009) 2,513  (2,934)  (9,654) 4,762  (7,141) 1,828 
Loss on interest rate swaps    (366)     (7,586)  (366)  (7,586)
Amortization of deferred pension plan amounts 689 634 1,375 1,273  687 634 2,062 1,908 
                  
Other comprehensive income (loss), net 4,415  (2,355) 7,904  (8,122)  (13,896) 2,008  (5,992)  (6,113)
                  
   
Net comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests  (91)   (52)    (238)  (467)  (290)  (467)
                  
Comprehensive income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $73,233 $230,602 $144,382 $603,468  $141,818 $96,607 $286,200 $700,076 
                  
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.statements.

 

12


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 1 — Organization and Basis of Presentation
Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation, is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, our fleet consisted of 7679 mobile offshore drilling units located worldwide as follows: 14 semisubmersibles, 1314 drillships, 4749 jackups and two submersibles. In addition,Additionally, we have one floating production storage and offloading unit (“FPSO”). At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had 11 of our 7613 units under construction as follows:
  
twoseven dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment drillships, including twoGlobetrotter-class drillships
two dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment and oneBully-class drillships,drillship, and
three dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater harsh environment drillships, and
foursix high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs.
Subsequent to June 30, 2011, we exercised options for the construction of two additional high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs.
Our global fleet is currently located in the following areas: the Middle East, India, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa and the Asian Pacific. Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921.
Noble-Cayman is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Swiss, our publicly-traded parent company. Noble-Swiss’ principal asset is all of the shares of Noble-Cayman. Noble-Cayman has no public equity outstanding. The consolidated financial statements of Noble-Swiss include the accounts of Noble-Cayman, and Noble-Swiss conducts substantially all of its business through Noble-Cayman and its subsidiaries.
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Noble-Swiss and Noble-Cayman have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as they pertain to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position and results of operations for the interim periods, on a basis consistent with the annual audited consolidated financial statements. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The December 31, 2010 Consolidated Balance Sheets presented herein are derived from the December 31, 2010 audited consolidated financial statements. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed by both Noble-Swiss and Noble-Cayman. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.
Certain amounts in prior periods have been revisedreclassified to conform to the current year presentation. Taxes payable in the December 31, 2010 Consolidated Balance Sheets was reported net of approximately $81 million in taxes receivable. During the second quarter ended June 30,of 2011, we determined that a right of offset in certain taxable jurisdictions did not exist for these receivables, and they are now being disclosed separately as a current asset. For the December 31, 2010 Consolidated Balance Sheets presented herein, these amounts have been revisedreclassified to conform to the current year presentation. We believe that this revisionreclassification is immaterial, as it did not have a material impact on our financial position, working capital, results of operations or cash flows from operations.

13


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 2 — Acquisition of FDR Holdings Limited
On July 28, 2010, Noble-Swiss and Noble AM Merger Co., a Cayman Islands company and indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Swiss (“Merger Sub”), completed the acquisition of FDR Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands company (“Frontier”). Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger with Frontier and certain of Frontier’s shareholders, Merger Sub merged with and into Frontier, with Frontier surviving as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Swiss and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman. The Frontier acquisition was for a purchase price of approximately $1.7 billion in cash plus liabilities assumed and strategically expanded and enhanced our global fleet by adding three dynamically positioned drillships (including twoBully-class joint venture-owned drillships under construction), two conventionally moored drillships, including one that is Arctic-class, a conventionally moored deepwater semisubmersible and one dynamically positioned FPSO.fleet. Frontier’s results of operations were included in our results beginning July 28, 2010. We funded the cash consideration paid at closing of approximately $1.7 billion using proceeds from our July 2010 offering of senior notes and existing cash on hand.

13


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
The following unaudited pro forma financial information for the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2010 gives effect to the Frontier acquisition as if it had occurred at January 1, 2009. The pro forma results are based on historical data and are not intended to be indicative of the results of future operations.
                
 Three months Six months  Three months Nine months 
 ended ended  ended ended 
 June 30, 2010 June 30, 2010  September 30, 2010 September 30, 2010 
Total operating revenues $784,424 $1,693,039  $647,700 $2,339,889 
Net income 191,377 552,601  85,282 616,358 
Net income per share $0.74 $2.14  $0.33 $2.40 
Note 3 — Consolidated Joint Ventures
In connection with the Frontier acquisition, we acquired Frontier’s 50 percent interest in two joint ventures, each with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, PLC (“Shell”), for the construction and operation of the twoBully-class drillships. Since these entities’ equity at risk is insufficient to permit them to carry on their activities without additional financial support, they each meet the criteria for a variable interest entity. We have determined that we are the primary beneficiary for accounting purposes. Accordingly, we consolidate the entities in our consolidated financial statements after eliminating intercompany transactions. Shell’s equity interest isinterests are presented as noncontrolling interests on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
In the first quarter of 2011, the joint venture credit facilities, which had a combined outstanding balance of $693 million, were repaid in full through contributions to the joint ventures from Noble and Shell. Shell contributed $361 million in equity to fund their portion of the repayment of joint venture credit facilities and related interest rate swaps, which were settled concurrent with the repayment and termination of the joint venture credit facilities.
In January 2011, the Bully joint ventures issued notes to the joint venture partners totaling $70 million. The interest rate on these notes was 10%, payable semi-annually in arrears and in kind on June 30 and December 31 commencing in June 2011. The purpose of these notes was to provide additional liquidity to the joint ventures in connection with the shipyard construction of theBullyvessels.
In April 2011, the Bully joint venture partners entered into a subscription agreement, pursuant to which each partner was issued equity in each of the Bully joint ventures in exchange for the cancellation of all outstanding joint venture partner notes. The subscription agreement converted all joint venture partner notes into equity of the respective joint venture. The total capital contributed as a result of these agreements was $146 million, which included $142 million in outstanding notes, plus accrued interest. Our portion of the capital contribution, totaling $73 million, was eliminated in consolidation.
In April 2011, the Bully joint venture partners also entered into capital contribution agreements whereby capital calls up to a total of $360 million can be made for funds needed to complete the projects. As of September 30, 2011, the total capital contributed under these agreements was $170 million. Subsequent to the third quarter, an additional $60 million of capital was contributed under these agreements.
At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, the combined carrying amount of the drillships was $1.1$1.3 billion, which was primarily funded through partner equity contributions. The joint venture partners entered into capital contribution agreements in April 2011 whereby capital calls can be made for funds needed to complete the projects. The total funding available to the Bully joint ventures under these agreements at June 30, 2011 was $280 million.

 

14


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 4 — Share Data
Share capital
The following is a detail of Noble-Swiss’ share capital as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010:
                
 June 30, December 31,  September 30, December 31, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
   
Shares outstanding and trading
 252,290 252,275  252,433 252,275 
Treasury shares 10,378 10,140  285 10,140 
          
Total shares outstanding
 262,668 262,415  252,718 262,415 
  
Treasury shares held for share-based compensation plans 13,598 13,851  13,432 13,851 
          
Total shares authorized for issuance
 276,266 276,266  266,150 276,266 
          
 
Par value per share (in Swiss Francs) 3.67 3.93  3.54 3.93 
Shares authorized for issuance by Noble-Swiss at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 totaled 276.3266.2 million shares and include 10.40.3 million shares held in treasury and 13.613.4 million treasury shares held by a wholly-owned subsidiary. Repurchased treasury shares are recorded at cost, and include shares repurchased pursuant to our approved share repurchase program discussed below and shares surrendered by employees for taxes payable upon the vesting of restricted stock.
Share repurchases are made pursuant to the share repurchase program that our Board of Directors authorized and adopted. All shares repurchased under our share repurchase program are held in treasury. The number of shares that we may hold in treasury is limited under Swiss law. At September 30, 2011, 6.8 million shares remained available for repurchase under previous authorization by the Board of Directors. No shares have been repurchased under this authorization during the nine months ended September 30, 2011.
During July 2011, after making the required filings with the Swiss Commercial Register, 10.1 million repurchased shares held in treasury were cancelled and the total number of shares authorized for issuance was reduced to 266.2 million shares.
Our Board of Directors may further increase Noble-Swiss’ share capital through the issuance of up to 138.1 million conditionally authorized registered shares without obtaining shareholder approval. The issuance of these conditionally authorized registered shares is subject to certain conditions regarding their use.
Treasury shares/share repurchases
Share repurchases were made pursuant to the share repurchase program that our Board of Directors authorized and adopted. Subsequent to our 2009 Swiss migration, all shares repurchased under our share repurchase program are held in treasury. At June 30, 2011, 6.8 million shares remained available for repurchase under this authorization. Treasury shares held at June 30, 2011 include 9.9 million shares repurchased under our share repurchase program and 0.5 million shares surrendered by employees for taxes payable upon the vesting of restricted stock or exercise of stock options.
The number of shares that we may hold in treasury is limited under Swiss law. In April 2011, our shareholders approved the cancellation of 10.1 million shares held in treasury. During July 2011, after making the required filings with the Swiss Commercial Register, these 10.1 million treasury shares were cancelled and the total number of shares authorized for issuance was reduced to 266.2 million shares.

 

15


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Earnings per share
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for Noble-Swiss:
                                
 Three months ended Six months ended  Three months ended Nine months ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
Allocation of net income
  
Basic
  
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation $54,083 $217,925 $108,578 $588,651  $135,317 $86,020 $243,895 $674,671 
Earnings allocated to unvested share-based payment awards  (572)  (2,143)  (1,083)  (5,652)  (1,415)  (828)  (2,487)  (6,416)
                  
Net income to common shareholders — basic
 $53,511 $215,782 $107,495 $582,999  $133,902 $85,192 $241,408 $668,255 
                  
  
Diluted
  
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation $54,083 $217,925 $108,578 $588,651  $135,317 $86,020 $243,895 $674,671 
Earnings allocated to unvested share-based payment awards  (572)  (2,137)  (1,082)  (5,632)  (1,412)  (825)  (2,481)  (6,394)
                  
Net income to common shareholders — diluted
 $53,511 $215,788 $107,496 $583,019  $133,905 $85,195 $241,414 $668,277 
                  
  
Weighted average shares outstanding — basic
 251,368 254,224 251,198 254,671  251,580 252,513 251,327 253,944 
Incremental shares issuable from assumed exercise of stock options 700 800 737 949  449 671 640 855 
                  
Weighted average shares outstanding — diluted
 252,068 255,024 251,935 255,620  252,029 253,184 251,967 254,799 
                  
  
Weighted average unvested share-based payment awards
 2,688 2,480 2,554 2,431  2,658 2,453 2,589 2,438 
                  
  
Earnings per share
  
Basic $0.21 $0.85 $0.43 $2.29  $0.53 $0.34 $0.96 $2.63 
Diluted $0.21 $0.85 $0.43 $2.28  $0.53 $0.34 $0.96 $2.62 
Only those items having a dilutive impact on our basic earnings per share are included in diluted earnings per share. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, stock options totaling approximately 0.71.1 million were excluded from the diluted earnings per share as they were not dilutive as compared to 0.8 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2010.
Note 5 — Property and Equipment
Property and equipment, at cost, as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 consisted of the following:
                
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
Drilling equipment and facilities $9,824,335 $8,900,266  $9,908,049 $8,900,266 
Construction in progress 3,918,618 3,571,017  4,318,705 3,571,017 
Other 183,099 172,583  193,513 172,583 
          
 $13,926,052 $12,643,866  $14,420,267 $12,643,866 
          
Capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, totaled $1.4$2.0 billion and $531$886 million for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Capital expenditures for 2010 do not include the fair value of assets acquired as part of the Frontier acquisition. Capital expenditures for 2011 consisted of the following:
$972 million1.3 billion for newbuild construction;
$293463 million for major projects, including $82$130 million to upgrade two drillships currently operating in Brazil;
$108 million for other capitalized expenditures including major maintenance and regulatory expenditures which generally have useful lives ranging from 3 to 5 years; and
$56 million in capitalized interest.
Interest is capitalized on construction-in-progress at the weighted average cost of debt outstanding during the period of construction. Capitalized interest was $29 million and $56 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively, as compared to $13 million and $26 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, respectively.

 

16


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
$156 million for other capitalized expenditures, including major maintenance and regulatory expenditures which generally have useful lives ranging from 3 to 5 years; and
$88 million in capitalized interest.
Interest is capitalized on construction-in-progress at the weighted average cost of debt outstanding during the period of construction. Capitalized interest was $32 million and $88 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, as compared to $25 million and $51 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively.
Note 6 — Gain on contract extinguishments, net
In January 2011, we announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”) regarding operations in Brazil. Under the terms of the MOU, we agreed to substitute theNoble Phoenix, then under contract with Shell in Southeast Asia, for theNoble Muravlenko. In January 2011, Shell agreed to release theNoble Phoenixfrom its contract, which was effective in March 2011. TheNoble Phoenixis undergoing limited contract preparations, after which the unit will mobilize to Brazil. During the second quarter of 2011, Petrobras formally approved the rig substitution. We expect that acceptance of theNoble Phoenixwill take place in the fourthfirst quarter of 2011.2012. In connection with the cancelation of the contract with Shell on theNoble Phoenix, we recognized a non-cash gain of approximately $52.5 million during the first quarter of 2011, which represented the unamortized fair value of the in-place contract assumed in connection with the Frontier acquisition.
Also in January 2011, as a result of the substitution discussed above, we reached a decision not to proceed with the previously announced reliability upgrade to theNoble Muravlenkothat was scheduled to take place in 2013. As a result, we incurred a non-cash charge of approximately $32.6 million related to the termination of outstanding shipyard contracts.
In February 2011, the outstanding balances of the Bully joint venture credit facilities, which totaled $693 million, were repaid in full and the credit facilities terminated using a portion of the proceeds from our February 2011 debt offering and equity contributions from our joint venture partner. In addition, the related interest rate swaps were settled and terminated concurrent with the repayment and termination of the credit facilities. As a result of these transactions, we recognized a gain of approximately $1.3 million during the first quarter of 2011.
Note 7 — Receivables from Customers
As noted in Note 13, in May 2010 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (“Anadarko”) sent a letter asserting that the initial attempted deepwater drilling moratorium in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was an event of force majeure under the drilling contract for theNoble Amos Runner. In June 2010, Anadarko filed a declaratory judgment action in Federal District Court in Houston, Texas seeking to have the court declare that a force majeure condition had occurred and that the drilling contract was terminated by virtue of the initial proclaimed moratorium. We disagree that a force majeure event occurred and that Anadarko had the right to terminate the contract. In August 2010, we filed a counterclaim seeking damages from Anadarko for breach of contract. Anadarko has also attempted to offset revenue that we had billed for services performed prior to their termination of the contract. At September 30, 2011, we had accounts receivable of approximately $13 million related to this attempted offset. We do not believe Anadarko has a basis to offset these invoiced amounts. While we will continue to litigate the matter to full resolution, we can make no assurances as to the outcome of this dispute.
In June 2010, a subsidiary of Frontier entered into a charter contract with a subsidiary of BP PLC (“BP”) for theSeilleanwith a term of a minimum of 100 days. The unit went on hire on July 23, 2010. In October 2010, BP initiated an arbitration proceeding against us claiming the contract wasvoid ab initio, or never existed, due to a fundamental breach and has made other claims and is demanding that we reimburse the amounts already paid to us under the charter. We believe BP owes us the amounts due under the charter. The charter hascontains a “hell or high water” provision requiring payment, and we believe we have satisfied our obligations under the charter. Outstanding receivables related to this charter totaled $35 million as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011. We believe that if BP were to be successful in claiming the contractvoid ab initio,we would have an indemnity claim against the former shareholders of Frontier, and weFrontier. We have put themthe former owners of Frontier on notice to that effect.of this potential claim. We can make no assurances as to the outcome of this dispute.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had accounts receivable of approximately $14 million related to theNoble Max Smithwhich are being disputed by our customer, Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (“Pemex”). The disputed amount relates to lost revenues due from Pemex for downtime that occurred when our rig was damaged after one of Pemex’s supply boats collided with our rig. WeWhile we believe that we are entitled to these revenues and continuethe disputed amounts, we can make no assurances as to pursue resolution tothe outcome of this issue.

17


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)dispute.
Note 8 — Debt
Total debt consisted of the following at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010:
                
 June 30, December 31,  September 30, December 31, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
Wholly-owned debt instruments:
  
5.875% Senior Notes due 2013 $299,929 $299,911  $299,939 $299,911 
7.375% Senior Notes due 2014 249,574 249,506  249,610 249,506 
3.45% Senior Notes due 2015 350,000 350,000  350,000 350,000 
3.05% Senior Notes due 2016 299,931   299,934  
7.50% Senior Notes due 2019 201,695 201,695  201,695 201,695 
4.90% Senior Notes due 2020 498,726 498,672  498,754 498,672 
4.625% Senior Notes due 2021 399,458   399,469  
6.20% Senior Notes due 2040 399,889 399,889  399,890 399,889 
6.05% Senior Notes due 2041 397,568   397,575  
Credit facilities 425,000 40,000  715,000 40,000 
 
Consolidated joint venture debt instruments:
  
Joint venture credit facilities $ $691,052  $ $691,052 
Joint venture partner notes  35,972   35,972 
          
Total Debt 3,521,770 2,766,697  3,811,866 2,766,697 
 
Less: Current Maturities   (80,213)   (80,213)
          
Long-term Debt $3,521,770 $2,686,484  $3,811,866 $2,686,484 
          
We have two separate revolving credit facilities in place which provide us with a total borrowing capacity of $1.2 billion. One credit facility, which has a capacity of $600 million, matures in 2013, and during the first quarter of 2011, we entered into an additional $600 million revolving credit facility which matures in 2015 (together referred to as the “Credit Facilities”). The covenants and events of default under the Credit Facilities are substantially similar, and each facility contains a covenant that limits our ratio of debt to total tangible capitalization, as defined in the Credit Facilities, to 0.60. We were in compliance with all covenants as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011.
The Credit Facilities provide us with the ability to issue up to $300 million in letters of credit in the aggregate. While the issuance of letters of credit does not increase our borrowings outstanding under the Credit Facilities, it does reduce the amount available. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had borrowings of $425$715 million outstanding and no letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facilities.
In February 2011, we issued through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Noble Holding International Limited (“NHIL”), $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes in three separate tranches, comprising $300 million of 3.05% Senior Notes due 2016, $400 million of 4.625% Senior Notes due 2021, and $400 million of 6.05% Senior Notes due 2041. A portion of the net proceeds of approximately $1.09 billion, after expenses, was used to repay the outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility and to repay our portion of outstanding debt under the joint venture credit facilities discussed below.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
In the first quarter of 2011, the joint venture credit facilities, which had a combined outstanding balance of $693 million, were repaid in full through contributions to the joint ventures from Noble and Shell. Shell contributed $361 million in equity to fund their portion of the repayment of joint venture credit facilities and related interest rate swaps, which were settled concurrent with the repayment and termination of the joint venture credit facilities.
In January 2011, the Bully joint ventures issued notes to the joint venture partners totaling $70 million. The interest rate on these notes was 10%, payable semi-annually in arrears, and in kind, on June 30 and December 31 commencing in June 2011. The purpose of these notes was to provide additional liquidity to the joint ventures in connection with the shipyard construction of theBullyvessels.

18


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
In April 2011, the Bully joint venture partners entered into a subscription agreement, pursuant to which each partner was issued equity in each of the Bully joint ventures in exchange for the cancellation of all outstanding joint venture partner notes. The subscription agreement has the effect of converting all joint venture partner notes into equity of the respective joint venture. The total capital contributed as a result of these agreements was $146 million, which included $142 million in outstanding notes, plus accrued interest. Our portion of the capital contribution, totaling $73 million, was eliminated in consolidation.
Fair Value of Debt
Fair value represents the amount at which an instrument could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing parties. The estimated fair value of our senior notes was based on the quoted market prices for similar issues or on the current rates offered to us for debt of similar remaining maturities. The following table presents the estimated fair value of our long-term debt as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.
                                
 June 30, 2011 December 31, 2010  September 30, 2011 December 31, 2010 
 Carrying Estimated Carrying Estimated  Carrying Estimated Carrying Estimated 
 Value Fair Value Value Fair Value  Value Fair Value Value Fair Value 
Wholly-owned debt instruments
  
5.875% Senior Notes due 2013 $299,929 $324,745 $299,911 $324,281  $299,939 $323,731 $299,911 $324,281 
7.375% Senior Notes due 2014 249,574 285,298 249,506 282,078  249,610 283,353 249,506 282,078 
3.45% Senior Notes due 2015 350,000 362,312 350,000 357,292  350,000 365,503 350,000 357,292 
3.05% Senior Notes due 2016 299,931 302,553    299,934 305,919   
7.50% Senior Notes due 2019 201,695 245,187 201,695 242,464  201,695 250,238 201,695 242,464 
4.90% Senior Notes due 2020 498,726 517,933 498,672 516,192  498,754 537,513 498,672 516,192 
4.625% Senior Notes due 2021 399,458 405,760    399,469 420,987   
6.20% Senior Notes due 2040 399,889 421,767 399,889 423,345  399,890 456,403 399,889 423,345 
6.05% Senior Notes due 2041 397,568 411,041    397,575 447,951   
Credit facilities 425,000 425,000 40,000 40,000  715,000 715,000 40,000 40,000 
Consolidated joint venture debt instruments
  
Joint venture credit facilities   691,052 691,052    691,052 691,052 
Joint venture partner notes   35,972 35,972    35,972 35,972 
Note 9 — Income Taxes
At December 31, 2010, the reserves for uncertain tax positions totaled $145 million (net of related tax benefits of $8 million). At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, the reserves for uncertain tax positions totaled $141$122 million (net of related tax benefits of $9$8 million). If the JuneSeptember 30, 2011 reserves are not realized, the provision for income taxes would be reduced by $124 million and equity would be directly increased by $17$122 million.
It is possible that our existing liabilities related to our reserve for uncertain tax position amounts may increase or decrease in the next twelve months primarily from the completion of open audits or the expiration of statutes of limitation. However, we cannot reasonably estimate a range of changes in our existing liabilities for various uncertainties, such as the unresolved nature of various audits.

 

19


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 10 — Employee Benefit Plans
Pension costs include the following components:
                
 Three Months Ended June 30,                 
 2011 2010  Three Months Ended September 30, 
 Non-U.S. U.S. Non-U.S. U.S.  2011 2010 
  Non-U.S. U.S. Non-U.S. U.S. 
Service cost $1,153 $2,152 $1,050 $1,912  $1,141 $2,152 $1,045 $1,912 
Interest cost 1,440 2,143 1,204 1,957  1,433 2,143 1,224 1,957 
Return on plan assets  (1,454)  (2,768)  (1,302)  (2,392)  (1,449)  (2,768)  (1,331)  (2,392)
Amortization of prior service cost  57  57   57  57 
Amortization of transition obligation 19  18   19  17  
Recognized net actuarial loss 123 843 175 705  123 844 181 705 
                  
Net pension expense $1,281 $2,427 $1,145 $2,239  $1,267 $2,428 $1,136 $2,239 
                  
                
 Six Months Ended June 30,                 
 2011 2010  Nine Months Ended September 30, 
 Non-U.S. U.S. Non-U.S. U.S.  2011 2010 
  Non-U.S. U.S. Non-U.S. U.S. 
Service cost $2,246 $4,304 $2,166 $3,824  $3,387 $6,456 $3,211 $5,736 
Interest cost 2,823 4,286 2,470 3,914  4,256 6,428 3,694 5,871 
Return on plan assets  (2,857)  (5,536)  (2,668)  (4,784)  (4,306)  (8,304)  (3,999)  (7,176)
Amortization of prior service cost  113  114   170  171 
Amortization of transition obligation 37  36   56  53  
Recognized net actuarial loss 243 1,687 356 1,410  366 2,531 537 2,115 
                  
Net pension expense $2,492 $4,854 $2,360 $4,478  $3,759 $7,281 $3,496 $6,717 
                  
During the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010, we made contributions to our pension plans totaling $2$7 million and $3$15 million, respectively. We expect the funding to our non-U.S. and U.S. plans in 2011, subject to applicable law, to be approximately $10$11 million.
We sponsor the Noble Drilling Corporation 401(k) Savings Restoration Plan (“Restoration Plan”). The Restoration Plan is a nonqualified, unfunded employee benefit plan under which certain highly compensated employees may elect to defer compensation in excess of amounts deferrable under our 401(k) savings plan. The Restoration Plan has no assets, and amounts withheld for the Restoration Plan are kept by us for general corporate purposes. The investments selected by employees and the associated returns are tracked on a phantom basis. Accordingly, we have a liability to employees for amounts originally withheld plus phantom investment income or less phantom investment losses. We are at risk for phantom investment income and, conversely, we benefit should phantom investment losses occur. At both JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, our liability under the Restoration Plan totaled $5 million and $7 million.million, respectively. We have purchased investments that closely correlate to the investment elections made by participants in the Restoration Plan in order to mitigate the impact of the phantom investment income and losses on our financial statements. The value of these investments held for our benefit totaled $4 million and $7 million at both JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.2010, respectively.
Note 11 — Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
We periodically enter into derivative instruments to manage our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. We have documented policies and procedures to monitor and control the use of derivative instruments. We do not engage in derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes, nor wereare we a party to leveraged derivatives. During the period, we maintained certain foreign exchangecurrency forward contracts that did not qualify under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) standards for hedge accounting treatment and therefore, changes in fair values were recognized as either income or loss in our consolidated income statement.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
For foreign currency forward contracts, hedge effectiveness is evaluated at inception based on the matching of critical terms between derivative contracts and the hedged item. For interest rate swaps, we evaluate all material terms between the swap and the underlying debt obligation, known in FASB standards as the “long-haul method.” Any change in fair value resulting from ineffectiveness is recognized immediately in earnings.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Cash Flow Hedges
Our North Sea and Brazil operations have a significant amount of their cash operating expenses payable in local currencies. To limit the potential risk of currency fluctuations, we typically maintain short-term forward contracts settling monthly in their respective local currencies. The forward contract settlements in the remainder of 2011 represent approximately 5243 percent of these forecasted local currency requirements. The notional amount of the forward contracts outstanding, expressed in U.S. Dollars, was approximately $113$71 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011. Total unrealized gainslosses related to these forward contracts were $4$6 million as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and were recorded as part of “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” (“AOCL”).
Our two joint ventures had maintained interest rate swaps which were classified as cash flow hedges. The purpose of these hedges was to satisfy bank covenants of the then outstanding credit facilities and to limit exposure to changes in interest rates. In February 2011, the outstanding balances of the joint venture credit facilities and the related interest rate swaps were settled and terminated. As a result of these transactions we recognized a gain of $1 million during the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011.
The balance of the net unrealized gain/(loss) related to our cash flow hedges included in AOCL and related activity is as follows:
                                
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
  
Net unrealized gain at beginning of period $1,766 $(1,508) $1,970 $417 
Net unrealized gain/(loss) at beginning of period $4,117 $(2,517) $1,970 $417 
Activity during period:  
Settlement of foreign currency forward contracts during the period  (801) 617  (1,382)  (356)  (2,054) 1,395  (1,604)  (417)
Settlement of interest rate swaps during the period    (366)      (366)  
Net unrealized gain/(loss) on outstanding foreign currency forward contracts 3,152  (1,626) 3,895  (2,578)  (7,600) 3,367  (5,537) 2,245 
Net unrealized gain/(loss) on outstanding interest rate swaps   (7,586)   (7,586)
                  
Net unrealized gain/(loss) at end of period $4,117 $(2,517) $4,117 $(2,517) $(5,537) $(5,341) $(5,537) $(5,341)
                  
Fair Value Hedges
We have entered into a firm commitment for the construction of theNoble Globetrotter Idrillship. The drillship is beingwas constructed in two phases, with the second phase being installation and commissioning of the topside equipment. The contract for this second phase of construction iswas denominated in Euros, and in order to mitigate the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, we entered into forward contracts to purchase Euros. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, all amounts related to the aggregate notional amount offorward contracts have settled. We accounted for the remaining outstanding forward contract was 10 million Euros. This forward contract settles in connection with a required payment under the construction contract. We are accounting for this forward contractcontracts as a fair value hedge. Thehedges, and their fair market value of this derivative instrument iswas included in “Other current assets/liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Gains and losses from this fair value hedge would be recognized in earnings currently, along with the change in fair value of the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged, if any portion was found to be ineffective. The fair market value of this outstanding forward contract totaled approximately $51,000 at June 30, 2011 and $3 million at December 31, 2010. No gain or loss was recognized in the income statement for the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 or 2010, respectively.2010.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Foreign ExchangeCurrency Forward Contracts
One of our joint ventures maintained foreign exchangecurrency forward contracts to help mitigate the risk of currency fluctuation of the Singapore Dollar for the construction of theNoble Bully II drillship.These contracts were not designated for hedge accounting treatment under FASB standards, and therefore, changes in fair values were recognized as either income or loss in our Consolidated Income Statement. These contracts are referred to as non-designated derivatives in the tables to follow, and all were settled during the first quarter of 2011. For the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we recognized a loss of $0.5 million related to these foreign exchangecurrency forward contracts.

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NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Financial Statement Presentation
The following tables, together with Note 12, summarize the financial statement presentation and fair value of our derivative positions as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010:
                        
 Estimated fair value  Estimated fair value 
 Balance sheet June 30, December 31,  Balance sheet September 30, December 31, 
 classification 2011 2010  classification 2011 2010 
Asset derivatives
  
Cash flow hedges  
Short-term foreign currency forward contracts Other current assets $4,260 $2,015  Other current assets $ $2,015 
Fair value hedges  
Short-term foreign currency forward contracts Other current liabilities 51   Other current liabilities   
Non-designated derivatives  
Short-term foreign currency forward contracts Other current assets  2,603  Other current assets  2,603 
 
Liability derivatives
  
Cash flow hedges  
Short-term foreign currency forward contracts Other current liabilities $143 $412  Other current liabilities $(5,537) $412 
Short-term interest rate swaps Other current liabilities  15,697  Other current liabilities  15,697 
Long-term interest rate swaps Other liabilities  10,893  Other liabilities  10,893 
Fair value hedges  
Short-term foreign currency forward contracts Other current liabilities  3,306  Other current liabilities  3,306 
To supplement the fair value disclosures in Note 12, the following summarizes the recognized gains and losses of cash flow hedges and non-designated derivatives through AOCL or through “other income” for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                         
     Gain/(loss) reclassified    
  Gain/(loss) recognized  from AOCL to “other  Gain/(loss) recognized 
  through AOCL  income”  through “other income” 
  2011  2010  2011  2010  2011  2010 
Cash flow hedges
                        
Foreign currency forward contracts $3,152  $(1,626) $801  $(617) $  $ 
During the six months ended June 30, 2011, in connection with the settlement of our interest rate swaps, $1 million was reclassified from AOCL to gain on contract extinguishments.
                         
          Gain/(loss) reclassified    
  Gain/(loss) recognized  from AOCL to “other  Gain/(loss) recognized 
  through AOCL  income”  through “other income” 
  2011  2010  2011  2010  2011  2010 
Cash flow hedges
                        
Foreign currency forward contracts $(7,600) $4,762  $2,054  $  $  $ 
Interest rate swaps     (7,586)           (261)
Non-designated derivatives
                        
Foreign currency forward contracts $  $  $  $  $  $1,234 

 

22


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
The following summarizes the recognized gains and losses of cash flow hedges and non-designated derivatives through AOCL or through “other income” for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                        
   Gain/(loss) reclassified                           
 Gain/(loss) recognized from AOCL to “other Gain/(loss) recognized  Gain/(loss) reclassified   
 through AOCL income” through “other income”  Gain/(loss) recognized from AOCL to “other Gain/(loss) recognized 
 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010  through AOCL income” through “other income” 
   2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 
Cash flow hedges
  
Foreign currency forward contracts $3,895 $(2,578) $1,382 $356 $ $  $(5,537) $1,828 $1,604 $ $ $ 
Interest rate swaps   (7,586) 366    (261)
Non-designated derivatives
  
Foreign currency forward contracts      (546)   $ $ $ $ $(546) $1,234 
During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, in connection with the settlement of our interest rate swaps, $1 million was reclassified from AOCL to gain on contract extinguishments.
For cash flow presentation purposes, cash outflows of $29 million were recognized in the financing activities section related to the settlement of interest rate swaps. All other amounts were recognized as changes in operating activities.
Note 12 — Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The following table presents the carrying amount and estimated fair value of our financial instruments recognized at fair value on a recurring basis:
                                                
 June 30, 2011 December 31, 2010  September 30, 2011 December 31, 2010 
 Estimated Fair Value Measurements      Estimated Fair Value Measurements     
 Quoted Significant        Quoted Significant       
 Prices in Other Significant      Prices in Other Significant     
 Active Observable Unobservable      Active Observable Unobservable     
 Carrying Markets Inputs Inputs Carrying Estimated  Carrying Markets Inputs Inputs Carrying Estimated 
 Amount (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) Amount Fair Value  Amount (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) Amount Fair Value 
Assets -
 
Assets —
 
Marketable securities $7,178 $7,178 $ $ $6,854 $6,854  $4,294 $4,294 $ $ $6,854 $6,854 
Foreign currency forward contracts 4,311  4,311  4,618 4,618      4,618 4,618 
Firm commitment     3,306 3,306      3,306 3,306 
  
Liabilities -
 
Liabilities —
 
Interest rate swaps $ $ $ $ $26,590 $26,590  $ $ $ $ $26,590 $26,590 
Foreign currency forward contracts 143  143  3,718 3,718   (5,537)   (5,537)  3,718 3,718 
Firm commitment 51  51    
The derivative instruments have been valued using actively quoted prices and quotes obtained from the counterparties to the derivative instruments. Our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable are by their nature short-term. As a result, the carrying values included in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets approximate fair value.

 

23


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 13 — Commitments and Contingencies
InAs noted in Note 7, in May 2010 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (“Anadarko”) sent a letter asserting that the initial attempted deepwater drilling moratorium in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico issued on May 28, 2010 by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, was an event of force majeure under the drilling contract for theNoble Amos Runner. In June 2010, Anadarko filed a declaratory judgment action in Federal District Court in Houston, Texas seeking to have the court declare that a force majeure condition had occurred and that the drilling contract was terminated by virtue of the initial proclaimed moratorium. We disagree that a force majeure event occurred and that Anadarko had the right to terminate the contract. In August 2010, we filed a counterclaim seeking damages from Anadarko for breach of contract. Anadarko has also attempted to offset approximately $13 million that we had billed for services performed prior to their termination of the contract. We do not believe Anadarko has a basis to offset these invoiced amounts. We do not believe the ultimate resolution of this matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. As a result of the uncertainties noted above, we have not recognized any revenue under the portion of this contract relating to the period after termination and the matter could have a material positive effect on our results of operations or cash flows for the period in which the matter is resolved.resolved should the court ultimately rule in our favor.
TheNoble Homer Ferringtonis under contract with a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation (“ExxonMobil”), who entered into an assignment agreement with BP for a two well farm-out of the rig in Libya after successfully drilling two wells with the rig for ExxonMobil. In August 2010, BP attempted to terminate the assignment agreement claiming that the rig was not in the required condition. ExxonMobil has informed us that we must look to BP for payment of the dayrate during the assignment period. In August 2010, we initiated arbitration proceedings under the drilling contract against both BP and ExxonMobil. We do not believe BP had the right to terminate the assignment agreement and believe the rig continued to be fully ready to operate under the drilling contract. The rig has been operating under farm-out arrangements since March 2011. We believe we are owed dayrate by either or both of these clients. The operating dayrate was approximately $538,000 per day for the work in Libya. We are proceeding with the arbitration process and intend to vigorously pursue these claims. As a result of the uncertainties noted above, we have not recognized any revenue during the assignment period and the matter could have a material positive effect on our results of operations or cash flows in the period the matter is resolved.resolved should the arbitration panel ultimately rule in our favor.
In August 2007, we entered into a drilling contract with Marathon Oil Company (“Marathon”) for theNoble Jim Dayto operate in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. On January 1, 2011, Marathon provided notice that it was terminating the contract. Marathon’s stated reason for the termination was that the rig had not been accepted by Marathon by December 31, 2010, and Marathon also maintained that a force majeure condition existed under the contract. The contract contained a provision allowing Marathon to terminate if the rig had not commenced operations by December 31, 2010. We believe the rig was ready to commence operations and should have been accepted by Marathon. The contract term was for four years and represented approximately $752 million in contract backlog at the time of termination. No revenue has been recognized under this contract. In March 2011, we filed suit in Texas state district courtState District Court against Marathon seeking damages for its actions, and the suit is proceeding. We cannot provide assurance as to the outcome of this lawsuit.
During the fourth quarter of 2007, our Nigerian subsidiary received letters from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (“NIMASA”) seeking to collect a two percent surcharge on contract amounts under contracts performed by “vessels,” within the meaning of Nigeria’s cabotage laws, engaged in the Nigerian coastal shipping trade. Although we do not believe that these laws apply to our ownership of drilling units, NIMASA is seeking to apply a provision of the Nigerian cabotage laws (which became effective on May 1, 2004) to our offshore drilling units by considering these units to be “vessels” within the meaning of those laws and therefore subject to the surcharge, which is imposed only upon “vessels.” Our offshore drilling units are not engaged in the Nigerian coastal shipping trade and are not in our view “vessels” within the meaning of Nigeria’s cabotage laws. In January 2008, we filed an originating summons against NIMASA and the Minister of Transportation in the Federal High Court of Lagos, Nigeria seeking, among other things, a declaration that our drilling operations do not constitute “coastal trade” or “cabotage” within the meaning of Nigeria’s cabotage laws and that our offshore drilling units are not “vessels” within the meaning of those laws. In February 2009, NIMASA filed suit against us in the Federal High Court of Nigeria seeking collection of the cabotage surcharge. In August 2009, the court issued a favorable ruling in response to our originating summons stating that drilling operations do not fall within the cabotage laws and that drilling rigs are not vessels for purposes of those laws. The court also issued an injunction against the defendants prohibiting their interference with our drilling rigs or drilling operations. NIMASA has appealed the court’s ruling, although the court dismissed NIMASA’s lawsuit filed against us in February 2009. We intend to take all further appropriate legal action to resist the application of Nigeria’s cabotage laws to our drilling units. The outcome of any such legal action and the extent to which we may ultimately be responsible for the surcharge is uncertain. If it is ultimately determined that offshore drilling units constitute vessels within the meaning of the Nigerian cabotage laws, we may be required to pay the surcharge and comply with other aspects of the Nigerian cabotage laws, which could adversely affect our operations in Nigerian waters and require us to incur additional costs of compliance.

 

24


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
NIMASA had also informed the Nigerian Content Division of its position that we are not in compliance with the cabotage laws. The Nigerian Content Division makes determinations of companies’ compliance with applicable local content regulations for purposes of government contracting, including contracting for services in connection with oil and gas concessions where the Nigerian national oil company is a partner. The Nigerian Content Division had originally barred us from participating in new tenders as a result of NIMASA’s allegations, although the Division reversed its actions based on the favorable Federal High Court ruling. However, no assurance can be given with respect to our ability to bid for future work in Nigeria until our dispute with NIMASA is resolved. Further, we continue to evaluate the local content regulations in Nigeria, which could also affect our ability to operate there and our profitability earned from Nigeria.
In November 2010, we concluded our contract for theNoble Duchess in Nigeria. Following the contract, we commenced the exportation process for the rig. We continue to discussThe Nigerian Customs Service delayed departure of the rig while we discussed certain spare items that the customs authorities claim arethey claimed were unaccounted for and for which duty would be due. We believe the value of such equipment is insignificantresolved this matter for an immaterial amount and that the authorities are acting improperly. We have not been able to obtain clearance forexported the rig although we believe we will ultimately be able to exportduring the rig in a timely manner. However, if the Nigerian customs authorities persist in this manner, the timingthird quarter of the departure of the unit could be affected and could impede our marketing efforts.2011.
We are from time to time a party to various lawsuits that are incidental to our operations in which the claimants seek an unspecified amount of monetary damages for personal injury, including injuries purportedly resulting from exposure to asbestos on drilling rigs and associated facilities. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, there were approximately 2122 asbestos related lawsuits in which we are one of many defendants. These lawsuits have been filed in the United States in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We intend to vigorously defend against the litigation. We do not believe the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
We are a defendant in certain claims and litigation arising out of operations in the ordinary course of business, including certain disputes with customers over receivables discussed in Note 7, the resolution of which, in the opinion of management, will not be material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. There is inherent risk in any litigation or dispute and no assurance can be given as to the outcome of these claims.
We operate in a number of countries throughout the world and our income tax returns filed in those jurisdictions are subject to review and examination by tax authorities within those jurisdictions. Our 2008 tax return is currently under audit by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. In addition, a U.S. subsidiary of Frontier is also under audit for its 2007 and 2008 tax returns. Furthermore, we are currently contesting several non-U.S. tax assessments and may contest future assessments when we believe the assessments are in error. We cannot predict or provide assurance as to the ultimate outcome of the existing or future assessments. We believe the ultimate resolution of the outstanding assessments, for which we have not made any accrual, will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. We recognize uncertain tax positions that we believe have a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being sustained.
Certain of our non-U.S. income tax returns have been examined for the 2002 through 2008 periods and audit claims have been assessed for approximately $328$286 million (including interest and penalties), primarily in Mexico. We do not believe we owe these amounts and are defending our position. However, we expect increased audit activity in Mexico and anticipate the tax authorities will issue additional assessments and continue to pursue legal actions for all audit claims. We believe additional audit claims in the range of $10$9 to $12$10 million attributable to other business tax returns may be assessed against us. We have contested, or intend to contest, the audit findings, including through litigation if necessary, and we do not believe that there is greater than 50 percent likelihood that additional taxes will be incurred. Accordingly, no accrual has been made for such amounts.

 

25


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
We maintain certain insurance coverage against specified marine perils, including liability for physical damage to our drilling rigs, and loss of hire on certain of our rigs. The damage caused in 2005 and 2008 by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike negatively impacted the energy insurance market, resulting in more restrictedrestrictive and more expensive coverage for U.S. named windstorm perils. Accordingly, effective March 2009, we elected to self-insure this exposure to our units in the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Our rigs located in the Mexican portion of the Gulf of Mexico remain covered by commercial insurance for windstorm damage. In addition, we maintain physical damage deductibles of $25 million per occurrence for rigs located in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Southeast Asia, the North Sea, and New Zealand and Australia and $15 million per occurrence for rigs operating in West Africa, the Middle East, India, and the Mediterranean Sea. The loss of hire coverage applies only to our rigs operating under contract with a dayrate equal to or greater than $200,000 a day and is subject to a 45-day waiting period for each unit and each occurrence.
Although we maintain insurance in the geographic areas in which we operate, pollution, reservoir damage and environmental risks generally are not fully insurable. Our insurance policies and contractual rights to indemnity may not adequately cover our losses or may have exclusions of coverage for some losses. We do not have insurance coverage or rights to indemnity for all risks, including loss of hire insurance on most of the rigs in our fleet. Uninsured exposures may include expatriate activities prohibited by U.S. laws and regulations, radiation hazards, certain loss or damage to property on board our rigs and losses relating to shore-based terrorist acts or strikes. If a significant accident or other event occurs and is not fully covered by insurance or contractual indemnity, it could materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Additionally, there can be no assurance that those parties with contractual obligations to indemnify us will necessarily be financially able to indemnify us against all these risks.
In October 2011, we were assessed a fine by the Brazilian government in the amount of R$238,000 (approximately $135,000) in connection with the inadvertent discharge of approximately 200 barrels of drilling fluid from one of our vessels offshore Brazil in November 2010. We plan on appealing this judgment to the full extent permissible by law.
We carry protection and indemnity insurance covering marine third party liability exposures, which also includes coverage for employer’s liability resulting from personal injury to our offshore drilling crews. Our protection and indemnity policy currently has a standard deductible of $10 million per occurrence, with maximum liability coverage of $750 million.
In connection with our capital expenditure program, we had outstanding commitments, including shipyard and purchase commitments of approximately $2.6$3.4 billion at JuneSeptember 30, 2011.
We have entered into agreements with certain of our executive officers, as well as certain other employees. These agreements become effective upon a change of control of Noble-Swiss (within the meaning set forth in the agreements) or a termination of employment in connection with or in anticipation of a change of control, and remain effective for three years thereafter. These agreements provide for compensation and certain other benefits under such circumstances.
Internal Investigation
In 2007, we began, and voluntarily contacted the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to advise them of an internal investigation of the legality under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and local laws of certain reimbursement payments made by our Nigerian affiliate to our customs agents in Nigeria. In 2010, we finalized settlements of this matter with each of the SEC and the DOJ. Pursuant to these settlements, we agreed to pay fines and penalties to the DOJ and the SEC and to certain undertakings, including refraining from violating the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws, self-reporting any violations of the FCPA or such laws to the DOJ and reporting to the DOJ on an annual basis our progress on anti-corruption compliance matters. Our ability to comply with the terms of the settlements is dependent on the success of our ongoing compliance program, including our ability to continue to manage our agents and supervise, train and retain competent employees, and the efforts of our employees to comply with applicable law and our code of business conduct and ethics.

26


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
In January 2011, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Attorney General Office initiated an investigation into these same activities. A subsidiary of Noble-Swiss resolved this matter through the execution of a non-prosecution agreement dated January 28, 2011. Pursuant to this agreement, the subsidiary paid $2.5 million to resolve all charges and claims of the Nigerian government.
Any similar investigations or charges and any additional sanctions we may incur as a result of any such investigation could damage our reputation and result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties and curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. Further, resolving any such investigation could be expensive and consume significant time and attention of our senior management.

26


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, all of our rigs operating in Nigeria were operating under temporary import permits. To date, we have been successful in obtaining new, or extending existing, temporary import permits. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain new permits or further extensions of permits necessary to continue the operation of our rigs in Nigeria. If we cannot obtain a new permit or an extension necessary to continue operations of any rig, we may need to cease operations under the drilling contract for such rig and relocate such rig from Nigerian waters. We cannot predict what impact these events may have on any such contract or our business in Nigeria, and we could face additional fines and sanctions in Nigeria. Furthermore, we cannot predict what changes, if any, relating to temporary import permit policies and procedures may be established or implemented in Nigeria in the future, or how any such changes may impact our business there.

27


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 14 — Segment and Related Information
We report our contract drilling operations as a single reportable segment: Contract Drilling Services. The consolidation of our contract drilling operations into one reportable segment is attributable to how we manage our business, and the fact that all of our drilling fleet is dependent upon the worldwide oil and gas industry. The mobile offshore drilling units comprising our offshore rig fleet operate in a single, global market for contract drilling services and are often redeployed globally in response to changing demands of our customers, which consist largely of major non-U.S. and government owned/controlled oil and gas companies throughout the world. Our contract drilling servicesContract Drilling Services segment currently conducts contract drilling operations principally in the Middle East, India, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa and the Asian Pacific.
We evaluate the performance of our operating segment primarily based on operating revenues and net income. Summarized financial information of our reportable segments for the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010 is shown in the following table. The “Other” column includes results of labor contract drilling services in Canada and Alaska, as well as corporate related items.
                         
  Three Months Ended June 30, 
  2011  2010 
  Contract          Contract       
  Drilling          Drilling       
  Services  Other  Total  Services  Other  Total 
                         
Revenues from external customers $612,845  $15,152  $627,997  $701,102  $8,820  $709,922 
Depreciation and amortization  159,843   3,276   163,119   123,379   2,848   126,227 
Segment operating income/ (loss)  77,309   1,736   79,045   268,941   (394)  268,547 
Interest expense, net of amount capitalized  (683)  (14,146)  (14,829)  (235)  (275)  (510)
Income tax (provision)/ benefit  (11,418)  1,910   (9,508)  (51,544)  426   (51,118)
Segment profit/ (loss)  64,939   (10,856)  54,083   219,267   (1,342)  217,925 
Total assets (at end of period)  12,046,536   391,702   12,438,238   7,761,724   1,141,778   8,903,502 
Capital expenditures  810,723   3,736   814,459   181,505   11,132   192,637 
                                                
 Six Months Ended June 30,  Three Months Ended September 30, 
 2011 2010  2011 2010 
 Contract Contract      Contract Contract     
 Drilling Drilling      Drilling Drilling     
 Services Other Total Services Other Total  Services Other Total Services Other Total 
 
Revenues from external customers $1,177,499 $29,386 $1,206,885 $1,533,262 $17,511 $1,550,773  $719,546 $18,356 $737,902 $604,042 $8,576 $612,618 
Depreciation and amortization 314,731 6,510 321,241 236,553 5,531 242,084  162,837 3,376 166,213 140,199 3,083 143,282 
Segment operating income/ (loss) 162,025 3,284 165,309 692,885  (1,377) 691,508  159,588 3,994 163,582 109,083  (726) 108,357 
Interest expense, net of amount capitalized  (1,768)  (32,102)  (33,870)  (293)  (682)  (975)  (122)  (11,408)  (11,530)  (125)  (4,019)  (4,144)
Income tax (provision)/ benefit  (30,281) 5,414  (24,867)  (107,136) 622  (106,514)  (18,380) 766  (17,614)  (20,876) 589  (20,287)
Segment profit/ (loss) 131,819  (23,241) 108,578 591,304  (2,653) 588,651  141,199  (5,882) 135,317 89,001  (2,981) 86,020 
Total assets (at end of period) 12,046,536 391,702 12,438,238 7,761,724 1,141,778 8,903,502  12,472,018 479,515 12,951,533 9,625,999 1,380,425 11,006,424 
Capital expenditures 1,423,711 5,072 1,428,783 517,088 14,313 531,401  555,434 3,771 559,205 352,347 2,345 354,692 

 

2827


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
                         
  Nine Months Ended September 30, 
  2011  2010 
  Contract          Contract       
  Drilling          Drilling       
  Services  Other  Total  Services  Other  Total 
 
Revenues from external customers $1,897,045  $47,742  $1,944,787  $2,137,304  $26,087  $2,163,391 
Depreciation and amortization  477,568   9,886   487,454   376,754   8,612   385,366 
Segment operating income/ (loss)  321,613   7,278   328,891   801,966   (2,101)  799,865 
Interest expense, net of amount capitalized  (1,890)  (43,510)  (45,400)  (418)  (4,701)  (5,119)
Income tax (provision)/ benefit  (48,661)  6,180   (42,481)  (128,012)  1,211   (126,801)
Segment profit/ (loss)  273,018   (29,123)  243,895   680,302   (5,631)  674,671 
Total assets (at end of period)  12,472,018   479,515   12,951,533   9,625,999   1,380,425   11,006,424 
Capital expenditures  1,979,145   8,843   1,987,988   869,435   16,658   886,093 
Note 15 — Accounting Pronouncements
In October 2009, the FASB issued guidance that impacts the recognition of revenue in multiple-deliverable arrangements. The guidance establishes a selling-price hierarchy for determining the selling price of a deliverable. The goal of this guidance is to clarify disclosures related to multiple-deliverable arrangements and to align the accounting with the underlying economics of the multiple-deliverable transaction. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.
In January 2010, the FASB issued guidance relating to the disclosure of the fair value of assets. This guidance calls for additional information to be given regarding the transfer of items in and out of respective categories. In addition, it requires additional disclosures regarding the purchase, sales, issuances, and settlements of assets that are classified as level three within the FASB fair value hierarchy. This guidance is generally effective for annual and interim periods ending after December 15, 2009. However, the disclosures about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the roll-forward activity in Level 3 fair value measurements were deferred until fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.
In December 2010, the FASB issued guidance that requires a public entity to disclose pro forma information for business combinations that occurred in the current reporting period. The disclosures include pro forma revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period as though the acquisition date for all business combinations that occurred during the year had been as of the beginning of the annual reporting period. If comparative financial statements are presented, the pro forma revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the comparable prior reporting period should be reported as though the acquisition date for all business combinations that occurred during the current year had been as of the beginning of the comparable prior annual reporting period. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.
In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance that modified the wording used to describe many of the requirements in accounting literature for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. The goal of the amendment is to create consistency between the United States and international accounting standards. The guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. While we are still evaluating this guidance, the adoption of this guidance should not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.

28


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
In June 2011, the FASB issued guidance that allows an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. The amendment no longer allows an entity to show changes to other comprehensive income solely through the statement of equity. For publicly traded entities, the guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. While we are still evaluating this guidance, the adoption of this guidance will not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.

29


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-SWISS) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unless otherwise indicated, dollar amounts in tables are in thousands, except per share data)
Note 16 — Net Change in Other Assets and Liabilities
The net effect of changes in other assets and liabilities on cash flows from operating activities is as follows:
                                
 Noble-Swiss Noble-Cayman  Noble-Swiss Noble-Cayman 
 Six months ended Six months ended  Nine months ended Nine months ended 
 June 30, June 30,  September 30, September 30, 
 2011 2010 2011 2010  2011 2010 2011 2010 
  
Accounts receivable $(122,605) $176,106 $(122,572) $176,106  $(213,747) $250,917 $(213,747) $250,924 
Other current assets  (55,141)  (43,555)  (46,895)  (43,136)  (23,900)  (22,962)  (20,578)  (21,001)
Other assets  (776)  (15,751)  (3,253)  (15,865)  (21,755)  (6,600)  (24,233)  (6,705)
Accounts payable  (17,020) 19,898  (17,050) 15,470   (23,744)  (12,635)  (23,654)  (20,773)
Other current liabilities 1,544 10,340  (11,283) 9,683  21,281  (9,105) 13,655  (27,543)
Other liabilities 16,030 32,208 16,004 32,412  33,566 28,258 33,540 28,482 
                  
 $(177,968) $179,246 $(185,049) $174,670  $(228,299) $227,873 $(235,017) $203,384 
                  
Note 17 — Guarantees of Registered Securities
Noble-Cayman and Noble Holding (U.S.) Corporation (“NHC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman, are full and unconditional guarantors of NDC’s 7.50% Senior Notes due 2019 which had an outstanding principal balance at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 of $202 million. NDC is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of NHC. Noble Drilling Holding LLC (“NDH”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman, is also a co-obligor on (and effectively a guarantor of) the 7.50% Senior Notes. Noble Drilling Services 6 LLC (“NDS6”), also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman, is a co-issuer of the 7.50% Senior Notes.
NDC and NHIL are full and unconditional guarantors of Noble-Cayman’s 5.875% Senior Notes due 2013, which had an outstanding principal balance of $300 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011. The indenture governing the Senior Notes due 2013 provides that each guarantee may be released in connection with certain events, including upon a merger, consolidation or transfer of all of the assets of Noble Cayman or the guarantor with or to another person in compliance with the indenture (provided the acquiror assumes the guarantee), upon a liquidation of the guarantor in compliance with the indenture (provided any acquiror assumes the guarantee), or upon the guarantor’s ceasing to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman.
Noble-Cayman is a full and unconditional guarantor of NHIL’s 7.375% Senior Notes due 2014, which had an outstanding principal balance of $250 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011.
Noble-Cayman is a full and unconditional guarantor of NHIL’s 3.45% Senior Notes due 2015, 4.90% Senior Notes due 2020 and 6.20% Senior Notes due 2040. The aggregate principal balance of these three tranches of senior notes at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 was $1.25 billion.
Noble-Cayman is a full and unconditional guarantor of NHIL’s 3.05% Senior Notes due 2016, 4.625% Senior Notes due 2021 and 6.05% Senior Notes due 2041. The aggregate principal balance of these three tranches of senior notes at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 was $1.1 billion.

30


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
June 30, 2011

(in thousands)
The following consolidating financial statements of Noble-Cayman, NHC and NDH combined, NDC, NHIL, NDS6 and all other subsidiaries present investments in both consolidated and unconsolidated affiliates using the equity method of accounting.

29


                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
ASSETS
                                
Current assets                                
Cash and cash equivalents $41  $291  $  $  $  $224,585  $  $224,917 
Accounts receivable     12,143   3,115         494,728      509,986 
Prepaid expenses     357   11         64,309      64,677 
Short-term notes receivable from affiliates     119,476            100,500   (219,976)   
Accounts receivable from affiliates  1,115,706      799,688   1,276,324      4,371,467   (7,563,185)   
Other current assets  10,396   99,322   240   18,849   13,459   308,015   (281,431)  168,850 
                         
Total current assets  1,126,143   231,589   803,054   1,295,173   13,459   5,563,604   (8,064,592)  968,430 
                         
                                 
Property and equipment                                
Drilling equipment, facilities and other     2,144,664   71,297         11,676,266      13,892,227 
Accumulated depreciation     (195,924)  (51,632)        (2,611,671)     (2,859,227)
                         
Total property and equipment, net     1,948,740   19,665         9,064,595      11,033,000 
                         
                                 
Notes receivable from affiliates  3,487,062   675,000      1,239,600   572,107   2,781,400   (8,755,169)   
Investments in affiliates  7,011,232   8,853,976   3,510,031   6,215,619   1,993,985      (27,584,843)   
Other assets  4,090   10,302   2,081   19,691   941   361,150      398,255 
                         
Total assets
 $11,628,527  $11,719,607  $4,334,831  $8,770,083  $2,580,492  $17,770,749  $(44,404,604) $12,399,685 
                         
                                 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
                                
Current liabilities                                
Short-term notes payables from affiliates $50,500  $50,000  $  $  $  $119,476  $(219,976) $ 
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  1,767   21,747   9,818   52,149   4,412   523,479      613,372 
Accounts payable to affiliates  1,864,559   3,590,781   24,770   86,840   20,058   2,257,608   (7,844,616)   
                         
Total current liabilities  1,916,826   3,662,528   34,588   138,989   24,470   2,900,563   (8,064,592)  613,372 
                         
                                 
Long-term debt  724,929         2,595,146   201,695          3,521,770 
Notes payable to affiliates  1,770,500   1,147,500   85,000   975,000   811,000   3,966,169   (8,755,169)   
Other liabilities  19,929   46,253   25,796         377,566       469,544 
                         
Total liabilities
  4,432,184   4,856,281   145,384   3,709,135   1,037,165   7,244,298   (16,819,761)  4,604,686 
                         
                                 
Commitments and contingencies                                
                                 
Equity
  7,196,343   6,863,326   4,189,447   5,060,948   1,543,327   10,526,451   (27,584,843)  7,794,999 
                         
Total liabilities and equity
 $11,628,527  $11,719,607  $4,334,831  $8,770,083  $2,580,492  $17,770,749  $(44,404,604) $12,399,685 
                         
NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
September 30, 2011

(in thousands)
                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
ASSETS
                                
Current assets                                
Cash and cash equivalents $  $292  $  $  $  $191,713  $  $192,005 
Accounts receivable     10,757   3,472         586,932      601,161 
Prepaid expenses     400   10         57,121      57,531 
Short-term notes receivable from affiliates     119,476            110,000   (229,476)  
Accounts receivable from affiliates  1,182,035   92,282   847,880   150,144   15,737   5,705,679   (7,993,757)   
Other current assets     6,247   240         133,538      140,025 
                         
Total current assets  1,182,035   229,454   851,602   150,144   15,737   6,784,983   (8,223,233)  990,722 
                         
                                 
Property and equipment                                
Drilling equipment, facilities and other     2,374,299   71,567         11,940,555      14,386,421 
Accumulated depreciation     (207,832)  (52,334)        (2,734,320)     (2,994,486)
                         
Total property and equipment, net     2,166,467   19,233         9,206,235      11,391,935 
                         
                                 
Notes receivable from affiliates  3,487,062   675,000      2,336,527   572,107   2,662,901   (9,733,597)   
Investments in affiliates  7,185,905   9,133,639   3,510,041   6,370,565   1,899,939      (28,100,089)   
Other assets  3,660   15,933   2,067   19,087   910   487,484      529,141 
                         
Total assets
 $11,858,662  $12,220,493  $4,382,943  $8,876,323  $2,488,693  $19,141,603  $(46,056,919) $12,911,798 
                         
                                 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
                                
Current liabilities                                
Short-term notes payables from affiliates $60,000  $50,000  $  $  $  $119,476  $(229,476) $ 
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  6,298   24,036   8,116   15,201   630   580,143      634,424 
Accounts payable to affiliates  1,802,030   3,806,799   26,056   99,896   30,916   2,228,060   (7,993,757)   
                         
Total current liabilities  1,868,328   3,880,835   34,172   115,097   31,546   2,927,679   (8,223,233)  634,424 
                         
                                 
Long-term debt  1,014,939         2,595,232   201,695         3,811,866 
Notes payable to affiliates  1,652,000   1,147,500   85,000   975,000   811,000   5,063,097   (9,733,597)   
Other liabilities  19,929   24,291   30,177         443,751      518,148 
                         
Total liabilities
  4,555,196   5,052,626   149,349   3,685,329   1,044,241   8,434,527   (17,956,830)  4,964,438 
                         
                                 
Commitments and contingencies                                
                                 
Equity
  7,303,466   7,167,867   4,233,594   5,190,994   1,444,452   10,707,076   (28,100,089)  7,947,360 
                         
Total liabilities and equity
 $11,858,662  $12,220,493  $4,382,943  $8,876,323  $2,488,693  $19,141,603  $(46,056,919) $12,911,798 
                         

 

3130


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2010

(in thousands)
                                
                                 Other     
 Non-guarantor      Non-guarantor     
 Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating    Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating   
 Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total  Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total 
ASSETS
  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents $42 $146 $ $ $ $333,211 $ $333,399  $42 $146 $ $ $ $333,211 $ $333,399 
Accounts receivable  6,984 1,795   378,635  387,414   6,984 1,795   378,635  387,414 
Prepaid expenses  310    32,922  33,232   310    32,922  33,232 
Short-term notes receivable from affiliates  119,476    75,000  (194,476)    119,476    75,000  (194,476)  
Accounts receivable from affiliates 607,207  751,623 199,235 1,958 3,659,570  (5,219,593)   614,264 73,001 751,623 219,215 11,374 3,801,852  (5,471,329)  
Other current assets 7,057 89,736 240 19,980 9,416 276,194  (251,736) 150,887   16,735 240   133,912    150,887 
                                  
Total current assets 614,306 216,652 753,658 219,215 11,374 4,755,532  (5,665,805) 904,932  614,306 216,652 753,658 219,215 11,374 4,755,532  (5,665,805) 904,932 
                                  
  
Property and equipment  
Drilling equipment, facilities and other  1,254,482 70,945   11,289,547  12,614,974   1,254,482 70,945   11,289,547  12,614,974 
Accumulated depreciation   (153,638)  (50,250)    (2,391,066)   (2,594,954)   (153,638)  (50,250)    (2,391,066)   (2,594,954)
                                  
Total property and equipment, net  1,100,844 20,695   8,898,481  10,020,020   1,100,844 20,695   8,898,481  10,020,020 
                                  
  
Notes receivable from affiliates 3,507,062 675,000  1,239,600 479,107 2,492,900  (8,393,669)   3,507,062 675,000  1,239,600 479,107 2,492,900  (8,393,669)  
Investments in affiliates 6,835,466 9,150,129 3,561,451 5,618,248 1,879,831   (27,045,125)   6,835,466 9,150,129 3,561,451 5,618,248 1,879,831   (27,045,125)  
Other assets 1,872 7,700 2,451 11,336 1,001 318,232  342,592  1,872 7,700 2,451 11,336 1,001 318,232  342,592 
                                  
Total assets
 $10,958,706 $11,150,325 $4,338,255 $7,088,399 $2,371,313 $16,465,145 $(41,104,599) $11,267,544  $10,958,706 $11,150,325 $4,338,255 $7,088,399 $2,371,313 $16,465,145 $(41,104,599) $11,267,544 
                                  
  
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
  
Current liabilities  
Short-term notes payables from affiliates $25,000 $50,000 $ $ $ $119,476 $(194,476) $  $25,000 $50,000 $ $ $ $119,476 $(194,476) $ 
Current maturities of long-term debt      80,213  80,213       80,213  80,213 
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 1,473 19,218 8,779 31,973 4,413 647,488  713,344  1,473 19,218 8,779 31,973 4,413 647,488  713,344 
Accounts payable to affiliates 1,601,869 2,708,598 30,095 64,192 7,134 1,059,441  (5,471,329)   1,601,869 2,708,598 30,095 64,192 7,134 1,059,441  (5,471,329)  
                                  
Total current liabilities 1,628,342 2,777,816 38,874 96,165 11,547 1,906,618  (5,665,805) 793,557  1,628,342 2,777,816 38,874 96,165 11,547 1,906,618  (5,665,805) 793,557 
                                  
  
Long-term debt 339,911   1,498,066 201,695 646,812  2,686,484  339,911   1,498,066 201,695 646,812  2,686,484 
Notes payable to affiliates 1,834,500 1,092,000 120,000 550,000 811,000 3,986,169  (8,393,669)   1,834,500 1,092,000 120,000 550,000 811,000 3,986,169  (8,393,669)  
Other liabilities 19,929 48,595 25,485   432,839  526,848  19,929 48,595 25,485   432,839  526,848 
                                  
Total liabilities
 3,822,682 3,918,411 184,359 2,144,231 1,024,242 6,972,438  (14,059,474) 4,006,889  3,822,682 3,918,411 184,359 2,144,231 1,024,242 6,972,438  (14,059,474) 4,006,889 
                                  
  
Commitments and contingencies  
  
Total Equity
 7,136,024 7,231,914 4,153,896 4,944,168 1,347,071 9,492,707  (27,045,125) 7,260,655 
Equity
 7,136,024 7,231,914 4,153,896 4,944,168 1,347,071 9,492,707  (27,045,125) 7,260,655 
                                  
Total liabilities and equity
 $10,958,706 $11,150,325 $4,338,255 $7,088,399 $2,371,313 $16,465,145 $(41,104,599) $11,267,544  $10,958,706 $11,150,325 $4,338,255 $7,088,399 $2,371,313 $16,465,145 $(41,104,599) $11,267,544 
                                  

31


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF INCOME
Three Months Ended September 30, 2011

(in thousands)
                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
Operating revenues
                                
Contract drilling services $  $38,955  $5,105  $  $  $680,617  $(19,785) $704,892 
Reimbursables     691            16,747      17,438 
Labor contract drilling services     4            15,560      15,564 
Other                 8      8 
                         
Total operating revenues     39,650   5,105         712,932   (19,785)  737,902 
                         
                                 
Operating costs and expenses
                                
Contract drilling services  1,759   10,485   1,883   9,819      345,465   (19,785)  349,626 
Reimbursables     420            13,551      13,971 
Labor contract drilling services                 8,053      8,053 
Depreciation and amortization     13,138   937         151,644      165,719 
Selling, general and administrative  2,094   1,488      9,253      4,802      17,637 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net                        
                         
Total operating costs and expenses  3,853   25,531   2,820   19,072      523,515   (19,785)  555,006 
                         
                                 
Operating income (loss)
  (3,853)  14,119   2,285   (19,072)     189,417      182,896 
                                 
Other income (expense)
                                
Equity earnings in affiliates, net of tax  174,673   226,079   45,818   172,153   (20,624)     (598,099)   
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized  (16,721)  (15,612)  (1,285)  (21,641)  (7,106)  (267)  51,102   (11,530)
Interest income and other, net  1,615   6,906   (40)  15,813   2,277   26,415   (51,102)  1,884 
                         
                                 
Income before income taxes
  155,714   231,492   46,778   147,253   (25,453)  215,565   (598,099)  173,250 
Income tax provision     487            (17,785)     (17,298)
                         
Net Income
  155,714   231,979   46,778   147,253   (25,453)  197,780   (598,099)  155,952 
                                 
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests                 (238)     (238)
                         
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $155,714  $231,979  $46,778  $147,253  $(25,453) $197,542  $(598,099) $155,714 
                         

 

32


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF INCOME
ThreeNine Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011

(in thousands)
                                                                
 Other      Other     
 Non-guarantor      Non-guarantor     
 Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating    Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating   
 Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total  Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total 
Operating revenues
  
Contract drilling services $ $35,090 $4,705 $ $ $566,145 $(16,390) $589,550  $ $100,009 $14,800 $ $ $1,770,356 $(48,118) $1,837,047 
Reimbursables  1,778    22,344  24,122   3,381 12   60,458  63,851 
Labor contract drilling services      14,012  14,012   4    43,119  43,123 
Other      313  313       766  766 
                                  
Total operating revenues  36,868 4,705   602,814  (16,390) 627,997   103,394 14,812   1,874,699  (48,118) 1,944,787 
                                  
  
Operating costs and expenses
  
Contract drilling services 1,598 12,085 1,975 8,236  322,700  (16,390) 330,204  4,818 31,554 5,681 26,625  960,102  (48,118) 980,662 
Reimbursables  2,007    16,716  18,723   3,331    46,466  49,797 
Labor contract drilling services      8,750  8,750       25,326  25,326 
Depreciation and amortization  13,068 935   148,633  162,636   36,330 2,781   446,899  486,010 
Selling, general and administrative 1,792 1,209  7,626 1 4,014  14,642  5,397 4,206  24,756 1 14,450  48,810 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net               (21,202)   (21,202)
                                  
Total operating costs and expenses 3,390 28,369 2,910 15,862 1 500,813  (16,390) 534,955  10,215 75,421 8,462 51,381 1 1,472,041  (48,118) 1,569,403 
                                  
  
Operating income (loss)
  (3,390) 8,499 1,795  (15,862)  (1) 102,001  93,042   (10,215) 27,973 6,350  (51,381)  (1) 402,658  375,384 
  
Other income (expense)
  
Equity earnings in affiliates, net of tax 88,486 64,434 19,176 122,310 71,736   (366,142)   350,439 328,452 80,795 344,524 86,932   (1,191,142)  
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized  (17,903)  (15,323)  (1,719)  (23,530)  (7,271)  (886) 51,803  (14,829)  (52,985)  (45,527)  (4,824)  (67,667)  (22,048)  (3,284) 150,935  (45,400)
Interest income and other, net 1,625 6,932 37 11,435 2,252 29,375  (51,803)  (147) 4,953 19,376 8 38,557 6,321 85,698  (150,935) 3,978 
                                  
  
Income before income taxes
 68,818 64,542 19,289 94,353 66,716 130,490  (366,142) 78,066  292,192 330,274 82,329 264,033 71,204 485,072  (1,191,142) 333,962 
Income tax provision  6,658  (15,815)  (9,157)  6,287     (47,767)   (41,480)
                                  
Net Income
 68,818 71,200 19,289 94,353 66,716 114,675  (366,142) 68,909  292,192 336,561 82,329 264,033 71,204 437,305  (1,191,142) 292,482 
  
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests       (91)   (91)       (290)   (290)
                  
                   
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $68,818 $71,200 $19,289 $94,353 $66,716 $114,584 $(366,142) $68,818  $292,192 $336,561 $82,329 $264,033 $71,204 $437,015 $(1,191,142) $292,192 
                                  

 

33


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF INCOME
SixThree Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 20112010

(in thousands)
                                                                
 Other      Other     
 Non-guarantor      Non-guarantor     
 Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating    Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating   
 Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total  Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total 
Operating revenues
  
Contract drilling services $ $61,054 $9,695 $ $ $1,089,739 $(28,333) $1,132,155  $ $23,724 $5,363 $ $ $565,132 $(9,300) $584,919 
Reimbursables  2,690 12   43,711  46,413   388    18,789  19,177 
Labor contract drilling services     �� 27,559  27,559       7,887  7,887 
Other      758  758    (107)    742  635 
                                  
Total operating revenues  63,744 9,707   1,161,767  (28,333) 1,206,885   24,005 5,363   592,550  (9,300) 612,618 
                                  
  
Operating costs and expenses
  
Contract drilling services 3,059 21,069 3,798 16,806  614,637  (28,333) 631,036  18,924 8,475 1,657   296,031  (9,300) 315,787 
Reimbursables  2,911    32,915  35,826   127    14,224  14,351 
Labor contract drilling services      17,273  17,273       5,302  5,302 
Depreciation and amortization  23,192 1,844   295,255  320,291   9,494 924   132,641  143,059 
Selling, general and administrative 3,303 2,718  15,503 1 9,648  31,173   605 94  (63)  16,079  16,715 
Gain on contract extinguishments, net       (21,202)   (21,202)
                                  
Total operating costs and expenses 6,362 49,890 5,642 32,309 1 948,526  (28,333) 1,014,397  18,924 18,701 2,675  (63)  464,277  (9,300) 495,214 
                                  
  
Operating income (loss)
  (6,362) 13,854 4,065  (32,309)  (1) 213,241  192,488   (18,924) 5,304 2,688 63  128,273  117,404 
  
Other income (expense)
  
Equity earnings in affiliates, net of tax 175,766 102,373 34,977 172,371 107,556   (593,043)   124,218 155,504 38,484 136,039 35,842   (490,087)  
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized  (36,264)  (29,915)  (3,539)  (46,026)  (14,942)  (3,017) 99,833  (33,870)  (12,251)  (14,845)  (1,859)  (12,645)  (1,424)  (2,668) 41,545  (4,147)
Interest income and other, net 3,338 12,470 48 22,744 4,044 59,283  (99,833) 2,094  1,556 555  8,419 2,221 30,004  (41,545) 1,210 
                                  
  
Income before income taxes
 136,478 98,782 35,551 116,780 96,657 269,507  (593,043) 160,712  94,599 146,518 39,313 131,876 36,639 155,609  (490,087) 114,467 
Income tax provision  5,800     (29,982)   (24,182)   (18,445)     (956)  (19,401)
                                  
Net Income
 136,478 104,582 35,551 116,780 96,657 239,525  (593,043) 136,530  94,599 128,073 39,313 131,876 36,639 154,653  (490,087) 95,066 
  
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests       (52)   (52)       (467)   (467)
                  
                   
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $136,478 $104,582 $35,551 $116,780 $96,657 $239,473 $(593,043) $136,478  $94,599 $128,073 $39,313 $131,876 $36,639 $154,186 $(490,087) $94,599 
                                  

 

34


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF INCOME
ThreeNine Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2010

(in thousands)
                                                                
 Other      Other     
 Non-guarantor      Non-guarantor     
 Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating    Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating   
 Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total  Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total 
Operating revenues
  
Contract drilling services $ $20,280 $5,016 $ $ $670,214 $(8,000) $687,510  $ $72,313 $12,847 $ $ $2,026,515 $(30,600) $2,081,075 
Reimbursables  340 61   13,352 13,753   978 61   56,124  57,163 
Labor contract drilling services      8,056 8,056       23,704  23,704 
Other  112    491 603   5    1,444  1,449 
                                  
Total operating revenues  20,732 5,077   692,113  (8,000) 709,922   73,296 12,908   2,107,787  (30,600) 2,163,391 
                                  
  
Operating costs and expenses
  
Contract drilling services 2 10,726 1,188   267,168  (8,000) 271,084  18,931 27,082 4,793   819,446  (30,600) 839,652 
Reimbursables  988 61   9,316 10,365   1,226 61   43,172  44,459 
Labor contract drilling services      5,380 5,380       16,570  16,570 
Depreciation and amortization  9,044 874   116,134 126,052   27,321 2,536   354,918  384,775 
Selling, general and administrative  49,773 88 76   (34,403) 15,534   51,241 315 56   (3,475)  48,137 
                                  
Total operating costs and expenses 2 70,531 2,211 76  363,595  (8,000) 428,415  18,931 106,870 7,705 56  1,230,631  (30,600) 1,333,593 
                                  
  
Operating income (loss)
  (2)  (49,799) 2,866  (76)  328,518  281,507   (18,931)  (33,574) 5,203  (56)  877,156  829,798 
  
Other income (expense)
  
Equity earnings in affiliates, net of tax 231,400 166,662 9,556 242,210 123,117   (772,945)   732,956 497,191 47,602 768,130 336,350   (2,382,229)  
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized  (174)  (20,453)  (1,839)  (9,736)   (2,739) 34,431  (510)  (12,838)  (50,179)  (5,516)  (32,010)  (1,424)  (8,852) 105,697  (5,122)
Interest income and other, net 1,733 20,941   4,214 9,046  (34,431) 1,503  5,002 23,312  8,419 8,373 66,911  (105,697) 6,320 
                                  
  
Income before income taxes
 232,957 117,351 10,583 232,398 127,331 334,825  (772,945) 282,500  706,189 436,750 47,289 744,483 343,299 935,215  (2,382,229) 830,996 
Income tax provision   (10,351)     (39,192)   (49,543)   (27,537)     (96,803)   (124,340)
                                  
Net Income
 $232,957 $107,000 $10,583 $232,398 $127,331 $295,633 $(772,945) $232,957  706,189 409,213 47,289 744,483 343,299 838,412  (2,382,229) 706,656 
                  
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests       (467)   (467)
 
                 
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation
 $706,189 $409,213 $47,289 $744,483 $343,299 $837,945 $(2,382,229) $706,189 
                 

 

35


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF INCOMECASH FLOWS
SixNine Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 20102011

(in thousands)
                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
Operating revenues
                                
Contract drilling services $  $48,589  $7,484  $  $  $1,461,383  $(21,300) $1,496,156 
Reimbursables     590   61         37,335      37,986 
Labor contract drilling services                 15,817      15,817 
Other     112            702      814 
                         
Total operating revenues     49,291   7,545         1,515,237   (21,300)  1,550,773 
                         
                                 
Operating costs and expenses
                                
Contract drilling services  7   18,607   3,136         523,415   (21,300)  523,865 
Reimbursables     1,099   61         28,948      30,108 
Labor contract drilling services                 11,268      11,268 
Depreciation and amortization     17,827   1,612         222,277      241,716 
Selling, general and administrative     50,636   221   119      (19,554)     31,422 
                         
Total operating costs and expenses  7   88,169   5,030   119      766,354   (21,300)  838,379 
                         
                                 
Operating income (loss)
  (7)  (38,878)  2,515   (119)     748,883      712,394 
                                 
Other income (expense)
                                
Equity earnings in affiliates, net of tax  608,738   341,687   9,118   632,091   300,508      (1,892,142)   
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized  (587)  (35,334)  (3,657)  (19,365)     (6,184)  64,152   (975)
Interest income and other, net  3,446   22,757         6,152   36,907   (64,152)  5,110 
                         
                                 
Income before income taxes
  611,590   290,232   7,976   612,607   306,660   779,606   (1,892,142)  716,529 
Income tax provision     (9,092)           (95,847)     (104,939)
                         
Net Income
 $611,590  $281,140  $7,976  $612,607  $306,660  $683,759  $(1,892,142) $611,590 
                         
                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
Cash flows from operating activities
                                
Net cash from operating activities $(40,060) $23,345  $7,041  $(105,014) $(19,420) $636,982  $  $502,874 
                         
                                 
Cash flows from investing activities
                                
New construction and capital expenditures     (1,124,826)           (906,990)     (2,031,816)
Notes receivable from affiliates  20,000         (1,096,927)     200,000   876,927    
Refund from contract extinguishments                 18,642      18,642 
                         
Net cash from investing activities  20,000   (1,124,826)     (1,096,927)     (688,348)  876,927   (2,013,174)
                         
                                 
Cash flows from financing activities
                                
Increase in bank credit facilities, net  675,000                     675,000 
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net           1,087,833            1,087,833 
Contributions from joint venture partners                 481,000      481,000 
Payments of joint venture debt                 (693,494)     (693,494)
Settlement of interest rate swaps                 (29,032)     (29,032)
Financing cost on credit facilities  (2,835)                    (2,835)
Distributions to parent  (149,566)                    (149,566)
Advances (to) from affiliates  (355,081)  1,119,127   27,959   114,108   19,420   (925,533)      
Notes payable to affiliates  (147,500)  (17,500)  (35,000)        1,076,927   (876,927)   
                         
Net cash from financing activities  20,018   1,101,627   (7,041)  1,201,941   19,420   (90,132)  (876,927)  1,368,906 
               ��         
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  (42)  146            (141,498)     (141,394)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period  42   146            333,211      333,399 
                         
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $  $292  $  $  $  $191,713  $  $192,005 
                         

 

36


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
SixNine Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 20112010

(in thousands)
                                                                
 Other      Other     
 Non-guarantor      Non-guarantor     
 Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating    Noble- NHC and NDH Subsidiaries Consolidating   
 Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total  Cayman Combined NDC NHIL NDS6 of Noble Adjustments Total 
Cash flows from operating activities
  
Net cash from operating activities $(30,984) $20,555 $2,807 $(43,770) $(10,840) $321,277 $ $259,045  $(6,194) $(57,507) $(3,907) $(26,975) $3,258 $1,372,073 $ $1,280,748 
                                  
  
Cash flows from investing activities
  
New construction and capital expenditures   (842,012)     (633,338)   (1,475,350)   (381,928)     (499,482)   (881,410)
Notes receivable from affiliates 20,000     91,000  (111,000)       (1,239,600)   (490,000) 1,729,600  
Refund from contract extinguishments      18,642  18,642 
Acquisition of FDR Holdings, Ltd., net of cash acquired  (1,629,644)        (1,629,644)
                                  
Net cash from investing activities 20,000  (842,012)     (523,696)  (111,000)  (1,456,708)  (1,629,644)  (381,928)   (1,239,600)   (989,482) 1,729,600  (2,511,054)
                                  
  
Cash flows from financing activities
  
Borrowings on bank credit facilities 625,000       625,000 
Payments of bank credit facilities  (240,000)        (240,000)
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net    1,087,833    1,087,833     1,238,074    1,238,074 
Contributions from joint venture partners      436,000  436,000       35,000  35,000 
Payments of joint venture debt       (693,494)   (693,494)
Settlement of interest rate swaps       (29,032)   (29,032)       (2,041)   (2,041)
Financing cost on credit facilities  (2,835)        (2,835)
Distributions to parent  (94,291)        (94,291)  (422,537)  (422,537)
Advances (to) from affiliates  (238,391) 839,102 32,193  (1,044,063) 10,840 400,319    328,813 439,401 3,907 28,501  (3,258)  (797,364)   
Notes payable to affiliates  (38,500)  (17,500)  (35,000)    (20,000) 111,000   1,729,600       (1,729,600)  
                                  
Net cash from financing activities 10,983 821,602  (2,807) 43,770 10,840 93,793 111,000 1,089,181  1,635,876 439,401 3,907 1,266,575  (3,258)  (764,405)  (1,729,600) 848,496 
                                  
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  (1) 145     (108,626)   (108,482) 38  (34)     (381,814)   (381,810)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 42 146    333,211 333,399  3 268    725,954 726,225 
                                  
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $41 $291 $ $ $ $224,585 $ $224,917  $41 $234 $ $ $ $344,140 $ $344,415 
                                  

 

37


NOBLE CORPORATION (NOBLE-CAYMAN) AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2010

(in thousands)
                                 
                      Other       
                      Non-guarantor       
  Noble-  NHC and NDH              Subsidiaries  Consolidating    
  Cayman  Combined  NDC  NHIL  NDS6  of Noble  Adjustments  Total 
Cash flows from operating activities
                                
Net cash from operating activities $10,138  $(36,375) $3,592  $(4,400) $60  $1,053,419  $  $1,026,434 
                         
                                 
Cash flows from investing activities
                                
New construction and capital expenditures     (184,963)           (363,918)     (548,881)
                         
Net cash from investing activities     (184,963)           (363,918)     (548,881)
                         
                                 
Cash flows from financing activities
                                
Distributions to parent  (128,315)                    (128,315)
Advances (to) from affiliates  119,876   221,265   (3,592)  4,400   (60)  (341,889)      
                         
Net cash from financing activities  (8,439)  221,265   (3,592)  4,400   (60)  (341,889)     (128,315)
                         
Net change in cash and cash equivalents  1,699   (73)           347,612      349,238 
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period  3   268            725,954      726,225 
                         
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $1,702  $195  $  $  $  $1,073,566  $  $1,075,463 
                         

38


Item 2.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion is intended to assist you in understanding our financial position at JuneSeptember 30, 2011, and our results of operations for the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed by Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation (“Noble-Swiss”), and Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company (“Noble-Cayman”).
Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report regarding the Frontier transaction and integration, contract backlog, fleet and benefits, our financial position, business strategy, backlog, completion and acceptance of our newbuild rigs, contract commitments, dayrates, contract commencements, extension or renewals, contract tenders, the outcome of any dispute, litigation or investigation, plans and objectives of management for future operations, foreign currency requirements, results of joint ventures, indemnity and other contract claims, construction of rigs, industry conditions including the effect of disruptions of drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, access to financing, impact of competition, taxes and tax rates, advantages of our worldwide internal restructuring, indebtedness covenant compliance, and timing for compliance with any new regulations are forward-looking statements. When used in this report, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should” and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that such expectations will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report on Form 10-Q and we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law. We have identified factors including but not limited to operating hazards and delays, risks associated with operations outside the U.S., actions by regulatory authorities, customers, joint venture partners, contractors, lenders and other third parties, legislation and regulations affecting drilling operations, costs and difficulties relating to the integration of businesses, factors affecting the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, supply and demand of drilling rigs, factors affecting the duration of contracts, the actual amount of downtime, factors that reduce applicable dayrates, violations of anti-corruption laws, hurricanes and other weather conditions and the future price of oil and gas that could cause actual plans or results to differ materially from those included in any forward-looking statements. These factors include those referenced or described in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We cannot control such risk factors and other uncertainties, and in many cases, we cannot predict the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. You should consider these risks and uncertainties when you are evaluating us.
Executive Overview
Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, our fleet consisted of 7679 mobile offshore drilling units located worldwide as follows: 14 semisubmersibles, 1314 drillships, 4749 jackups and two submersibles. In addition,Additionally, we have one floating production storage and offloading unit (“FPSO”). At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had 11 of our 7613 units under construction. Subsequent to June 30, 2011, we exercised options for the construction of two additional high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs.
Our global fleet is currently located in the following areas: the Middle East, India, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa and the Asian Pacific. Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921.

38


Outlook
The overallDuring the third quarter of 2011, we began to see some stability in the offshore drilling market has been volatile since the events occurring in connection withafter a period of volatility, which occurred following theDeepwater Horizon,incident and the U.S. governmental response to the incident. In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the liftinggranting of the moratoriumpermits and publication of new safety rules has led to progressmore stable activity levels within the industry itself, especially as it relates to the deepwater markets. This resumption of activity has led to greater investment within the Gulf of Mexico and is contributing to an improvement in returning activity to more normal levels as indicated by the recent issuance of new drilling permits. However, while the issuance of a limited number of permits is a positive development,dayrates for deepwater and ultra-deepwater rigs worldwide. While there are a number of ongoingstill risks, which make it difficult to predict whether or when industry activity in the U.S. Gulf will return to levels seen prior to theDeepwater Horizon incident. These risks include a current and ongoing risk ofincluding potential third party environmental lawsuits targeting the permitting process, possible new drilling regulations, a failure of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (“BOEMRE”) to issue permits in a timely manner and the adoption by individual operators of new drilling or equipment standards exceeding those required by regulatory bodies. We believe those risks may be reduced as long as rigs continue to work without incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

39


Furthermore,The offshore drilling market displayed notable indications of improvement in the third quarter even though there is continuedcontinues to be uncertainty regarding the sustainability of the global economic recovery, which is proceeding unevenly in different geographic regions. In addition to the political instability in certain oil producing nations in the Middle East and North Africa, there is also uncertainty regarding the sustainability of the recovery in the credit markets, particularly in Europe. In the U.S., the ongoing debate regarding debt levels has resulted in concerns around U.S. sovereign debt ratings, as well as a weakening of the dollar.Europe and North America. During the first halfnine months of 2011, oil and gas prices increasedfluctuated as a result of supply side concerns in response to political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Natural gas prices in the United States fluctuated during the first halfnine months of the year, but ended the period in-line with year-end 2010 pricing. We believe thesethere continue to be competing factors noted above may lead to instabilitywhich could impact the volatility in the priceoffshore drilling market and the prices of bothoil and gas commodities for the foreseeable future.
DespiteEven with the increaseinstability in commodity prices,the global economy noted above, we have only recently seen an increase in demand for offshore drilling services. Developmentsservices in the first nine months of 2011. While the risk of negative developments in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico willcould continue to have an impact on the deepwater market segment in the short-term; however,short-term, we believe that the long-term outlook is stronger.continues to strengthen. Market dayrates for new ultra-deepwater units remain generally above $450,000, which is significantly lower than the peak rates achieved in 2007-2008. However, short-term2007-2008, but higher than rates seen in 2010. Short-term fixtures for very high specification units like theNoble Jim Day, have exceeded $500,000.$500,000, and we believe this is an indication of where the market could be going should there continue to be a strong demand for ultra-deepwater drilling units. Although demand in the jackup segment decreased slightly during 2010, utilization rates for units operating outside the U.S. Gulf of Mexico still averaged approximately 80 percent duringstabilized in the first halfnine months of 2011.2011, especially for those units equipped with standard drilling features. We continue to see differentiation in the jackup market segment with newer units having utilization rates exceeding 90 percent, whilethose units that entered service before 2000 have utilization rates closer to 70 percent.2000. Likewise, there has been a bifurcation of dayrates between older and newer units in the jackup market with newer units earning a premium as customers display a preference for technologically advanced and efficient drilling alternatives. Dayrates for both older and newer units were relatively stable throughout the second half of 2010 and while we have seen some indications that rates in certain regions started to increase during the first half of 2011, rates in general are significantly lower than the peak rates reached in 2007 and 2008.
Demand for our drilling services generally depends on a variety of economic and political factors, including worldwide demand for oil and gas, the ability of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) to set and maintain production levels and pricing, the level of production of non-OPEC countries and the policies of various governments addressing access to their oil and gas reserves. Our results of operations depend on offshore drilling activity worldwide. Historically, oil and gas prices and market expectations of potential changes in these prices have significantly affected that level of activity. Generally, higher oil and natural gas prices or our customers’ expectations of higher prices result in greater demand for our services. Demand for our services is also a function of the worldwide supply of mobile offshore drilling units. Industry analysts widely acknowledge that a significant expansion of industry supply of both jackups and ultra-deepwater units has commenced, the majority of which currently have no contract. The introduction of additional non-contracted rigs into the marketplace could have an adverse effect on demand for our services or the dayrates we are able to achieve.
In addition, as a result of exploration discoveries offshore Brazil, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”), the Brazilian national oil company, announced a plan to construct up to 28 deepwater rigs in Brazil and accepted bids in 2010 to construct these units from a number of shipyards and drilling contractors. A deepwater drilling rig construction industry possessing the scope and experience to efficiently address this volume of work does not currently exist in Brazil and Noble did not participate in these bids primarily because we viewed the capital risk associated with constructing a unit in Brazil as inappropriate. Petrobras awarded the first tranche of seven drillships to a Brazilian shipyard for delivery beginning in 2015. In March 2011, Petrobras cancelled the bids for the remaining 21 newbuild units. In June 2011, Petrobras issued a new tender to build 21 ultra deepwater rigs in Brazil to operate with Petrobras under 10 to 15 year contracts with drilling operations commencing within 48 months after the contract is awarded. Nevertheless,Petrobras opened the future of Petrobras’ building program remains uncertaintenders late October 2011, receiving offers for the 21 rigs from local Brazilian and the ultimate number of deepwater rigs to be built in Brazil is still unknown. WhileNorwegian based drillers, which Petrobras is currently in the market tenderingreviewing. Petrobras is also reviewing offers received for existing deepwater drilling units, theunits. The potential increase in supply from the Petrobras newbuilds could also adversely impact overall industry dayrates and economics.

 

4039


As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had 11 jackup units contractedhave 12 rigs, including the deepwater semisubmersible rigNoble Max Smithunder contract in Mexico with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (“Pemex”) in Mexico, eight, and seven of whichthese rigs have contracts scheduled to expire in 2011. Pemex currently has outstanding tenderscontinues to tender for upadditional jackup rigs as they attempt to 20 jackupincrease the number of working rigs. Some previous tenders published by Pemex contained a requirement that certain units must have entered service since the year 2000. While Pemex did not succeed in securing a significant number of newer rigs from those published tenders, we cannot predict whether this age requirement will be present in future Pemex tenders. If this requirement is present in future tenders, it could require us to seek work for our rigs in other locations, as the ages of our rigs currently operating in Mexico do not meet this requirement. If such work is not available, it could lead to additional idle time on some of our rigs. We cannot predict how many rigs might be affected or how long they could remain idle. We remain optimistic that many, if not all, of our rigs currently operating in Mexico will be able to continue to secure long-term work with Pemex.
In January 2011, we announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Petrobras regarding operations in Brazil. Under the terms of the MOU, we would substitute the drillshipNoble Phoenix, then under contract with Royal Dutch Shell (“Shell”) in Southeast Asia, for the drillshipNoble Muravlenko. In January 2011, Shell agreed to release theNoble Phoenixfrom its contract, which was effective in March 2011. TheNoble Phoenixhas undertaken limited contract preparations, after which the unit will mobilize to Brazil. During the second quarter of 2011, Petrobras formally approved the rig substitution. We expect that acceptance of theNoble Phoenixwill take place in the fourthfirst quarter of 2011.2012. In connection with the cancelation of the contract on theNoble Phoenix, we recognized a non-cash gain of approximately $52.5 million during the first quarter of 2011, which represents the unamortized fair value of the in-place contract assumed in connection with the Frontier acquisition.
Also in January 2011, as a result of the substitution discussed above, we reached a decision not to proceed with the previously announced reliability upgrade to theNoble Muravlenkothat was scheduled to take place in 2013. As a result, we incurred a non-cash charge of approximately $32.6 million related to the termination of outstanding shipyard contracts.
In connection with our existing drilling contracts with Petrobras for two of our drillships operating in Brazil, we approved certain shipyard reliability upgrade projects for these drillships, theNoble Leo Segeriusand theNoble Roger Eason. These upgrade projects, planned through 2012, are designed to enhance the reliability and operational performance of these drillships. During the first quarter, theNoble Leo Segeriusentered a shipyard in Brazil for its reliability upgrade. There are a number of risks associated with shipyard projects of this nature, particularly in Brazil, including potential project delays and cost overruns because of labor, customs, local shipyard, local content and other issues. In addition, the drilling contracts for these vessels provide Petrobras with certain rights of termination in the event of excessive downtime, and it is possible that Petrobras could exercise this right in the future with respect to one or both of these drillships. We intend to continue to closely monitor and discuss with Petrobras the status of these projects and plan to take appropriate steps to mitigate identified risks, which depending upon the circumstances, could involve a variety of options.
On April 25, 2011, theNoble Discovererwas operating off the coast of New Zealand when a severe weather event occurred. In anticipation of the severe weather, and in accordance with established procedures for severe weather events, theNoble Discoverersuspended drilling operations and secured and disconnected from the well. As a result of severe weather, the riser and the lower marine riser package were damaged and released from the vessel. While we are still evaluating the extent of the equipment damage, we currently believe the damage will not be material. We believe we are entitled to continue receiving dayrate from our customer until repairs are complete, and we are discussing the implications of this event with our customer. We can make no assurances as to the outcome of this event. TheNoble Discovereris currently anchored safely in a New Zealand harbor pending repairs.
While we cannot predict the future level of demand or dayrates for our drilling services or future conditions in the offshore contract drilling industry, we continue to believe we are well positioned within the industry and believe our acquisition of Frontier and recent newbuild announcements further strengthen our position, especially in deepwater drilling.

 

4140


Results and Strategy
In the secondthird quarter of 2011, we recognized net income attributable to Noble-Swiss of $54$135 million, or $0.21$0.53 per diluted share, on total revenues of $628$738 million. Sequential results of key metrics are as follows:
                
 Three Months Ended  Three Months Ended 
 June 30, March 31,  September 30, June 30, 
 2011 2011  2011 2011 
Average dayrate $140,296 $150,294  $151,782 $140,296 
Average utilization  70%  61%  76%  70%
Daily contract drilling services costs $80,985 $84,858  $77,205 $80,985 
Contract drilling services margin  43%  44%  49%  43%
We have actively expanded our offshore drilling and deepwater capabilities in recent years through the construction of new rigs, and as part of this technical and operational expansion we plan to continue pursuing opportunities to high-gradeupgrade our fleet.fleet to achieve greater technological capability, which would lead to increased drilling efficiencies. Our business strategy also focuses on the active expansion of our worldwide offshore drilling and deepwater capabilities through upgrades and modifications, acquisitions, divestitures of lower specification units and the deployment of our drilling assets in important oil and gas producing areas. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we continued our newbuild strategy with the following 1113 projects:
  
two dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environmentGlobetrotter-class drillships, which are scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2013, respectively and complete acceptance testing in the first quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2013, respectively;
  
twoone dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environmentBully-class drillshipsdrillship owned through a joint venture with Shell which areis scheduled to be delivered and complete acceptance testing in the fourth quarter of 2011 and complete acceptance testing in the first quarter of 2012, respectively;2012;
three dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment drillships under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industry which are estimated to be delivered from the shipyard and begin acceptance testing as follows: the second quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, and the second quarter of 2014, respectively; and
four high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs which are estimated to be delivered from the shipyard and begin acceptance testing as follows: first quarter of 2013, third quarter of 2013, fourth quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014, respectively.
four dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment drillships under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. which are estimated to be delivered from the shipyard to begin acceptance testing as follows: the second quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, the second quarter of 2014, and the second half of 2014, respectively; and
six high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs which are estimated to be delivered from the shipyard to begin acceptance testing as follows: first quarter of 2013, third quarter of 2013, fourth quarter of 2013, first quarter of 2014, fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015, respectively.
Of our 1113 rigs under construction as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, fivefour drillships and all six jackups are being constructed at a shipyard with a strong history of successful execution. Also, four of the drillships are contracted for five years or more. Themore, while the remaining sixnine rigs are being constructed without contracts. Subsequent to June 30, 2011, we exercised options for the construction of two additional high-specification heavy duty, harsh environment jackup rigs which are expected to be delivered from the shipyard during the third and fourth quarters of 2014; both rigs are currently being constructed without contracts. We have a priced option for an additional ultra-deepwater drillship.
As part of our business strategy, we continue to review our fleet and the strategic benefit of our lower specification units. We believe that we need to continue to upgrade our fleet to achieve greater technological capability which would lead to increased drilling efficiencies. As part of this process, we may decide to dispose of some of our lower specification units, and we are considering a number of potential options. We believe these units are maintained in a manner that would allow us to successfully continue to operate them should we decide this is the appropriate course of action based on available alternatives.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico Operations
Subsequent to the April 20, 2010 fire and explosion on theDeepwater Horizon, a competitor’s drilling rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. governmental authorities implemented a moratorium on and suspension of specified types of drilling activities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. government lifted the moratorium following adoption of new regulations including a drilling safety rule and a workplace safety rule, each of which imposed multiple obligations relating to offshore drilling operations. These obligations relate to, among other things, additional certifications and verifications relating to compliance with applicable regulations; compatibility of blowout preventers with drilling rigs and well design; third-party inspections and design review of blowout preventers; testing of casing installations; minimum requirements for personnel operating blowout preventers; and training in deepwater well control.

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In addition, the U.S. government has indicated that to receive a deepwater drilling permit, the operator must (i) demonstrate that containment resources are available promptly in the event of a deepwater blowout, (ii) have the chief executive officer of each operator certify that the operator has complied with all applicable regulations and (iii) allow the BOEMRE to conduct inspections of each deepwater drilling operation for compliance with the applicable regulations.
Our existing U.S. Gulf of Mexico operations have been, and will continue to be, negatively impacted by the events and governmental action described above. As of June 30, 2011, our U.S. Gulf of Mexico operations included seven deepwater drilling units. We have worked and continue to work closely with our customers for drilling services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to address the hardships imposed by the governmental actions described above. The discussion below briefly describes the current status of each of the seven drilling units.
Noble Danny Adkins.The unit spent part of the second quarter operating under a permit and receiving full dayrate. However, during the quarter the rig was forced to make repairs to certain sub-sea equipment, resulting in significant down-time during the quarter.
Noble Jim Day. In February 2011, this drilling unit went under contract for a subsidiary of Shell in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and received a reduced stand-by rate for the entire second quarter. On July 11, 2011, Shell received the necessary permits and this rig began operating under full dayrate.
Noble Amos Runner.This unit recently completed its contract with LLOG Exploration, LLC and is currently seeking opportunities both inside and outside the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Noble Jim Thompson.During April 2011, this unit began operating under its full operating dayrate with Shell following approval of the required drilling permits.
Noble Paul Romano.The unit recently received a contract and is expected to begin operating outside the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Noble Driller. This unit received its blow out preventer certification in July 2011 upon completion of a shipyard project. This unit is under contract with Shell and is receiving full dayrate as of August 1, 2011.
Noble Lorris Bouzigard. This drilling unit is currently cold stacked, but is being actively marketed to potential customers.
Acquisition of FDR Holdings Limited
On July 28, 2010, Noble-Swiss and Noble AM Merger Co., a Cayman Islands company and indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Swiss (“Merger Sub”), completed the acquisition of FDR Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands company (“Frontier”). Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger with Frontier and certain of Frontier’s shareholders, Merger Sub merged with and into Frontier, with Frontier surviving as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Swiss and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-Cayman. The Frontier acquisition was for a purchase price of approximately $1.7 billion in cash plus liabilities assumed and strategically expanded and enhanced our global fleet by adding three dynamically positioned drillships (including twoBully-class joint venture-owned drillships under construction), two conventionally moored drillships, including one that is Arctic-class, a conventionally moored deepwater semisubmersible and one FPSO.fleet. Frontier’s results of operations were included in our results beginning July 28, 2010. We funded the cash consideration paid at closing of approximately $1.7 billion using proceeds from our July 2010 offering of senior notes and existing cash on hand.

 

4341


Contract Drilling Services Backlog
We maintain a backlog (as defined below) of commitments for contract drilling services. The following table sets forth as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 the amount of our contract drilling services backlog and the percent of available operating days committed for the periods indicated:
                                     
 Year Ending December 31,  Year Ending December 31, 
 Total 2011 (1) 2012 2013 2014 2015-2023  Total 2011 (1) 2012 2013 2014 2015-2023 
 (In millions)  (In millions) 
Contract Drilling Services Backlog
  
Semisubmersibles/Drillships (2) (6) (7) $11,388 $886 $1,683 $1,667 $1,780 $5,372  $11,219 $519 $1,865 $1,665 $1,780 $5,390 
Jackups/Submersibles (3) 1,559 556 579 287 134 3  1,619 296 750 386 184 3 
Other       
                          
Total (4) $12,947 $1,442 $2,262 $1,954 $1,914 $5,375  $12,838 $815 $2,615 $2,051 $1,964 $5,393 
                          
Percent of Available Operating Days Committed (5)  73%  43%  28%  22%  5%
Percent of Available Operating Days 
Committed (5)  81%  53%  33%  24%  5%
                      
   
(1) Represents a six-monththree-month period beginning JulyOctober 1, 2011.
 
(2) Our drilling contracts with Petrobras provide an opportunity for us to earn performance bonuses based on downtime experienced for our rigs operating offshore Brazil. With respect to our semisubmersibles operating offshore Brazil for Petrobras, we have included in our backlog an amount equal to 75 percent of potential performance bonuses for such semisubmersibles, which amount is based on and generally consistent with our historical earnings of performance bonuses for these rigs. With respect to our drillships presently operating offshore Brazil for Petrobras, offshore Brazil, we (a) have not included in our backlog any performance bonuses for periods prior to the commencement of certain upgrade projects planned for 2011 through 2012, which projects are designed to enhance the reliability and operational performance of ourthese drillships, and (b) have included in our backlog an amount equal to 75 percent of potential performance bonuses for periods after the estimated completion of such upgrade projects. Our backlog for semisubmersibles/drillships includes approximately $278$266 million attributable to these performance bonuses.
 
  
The drilling contracts with Shell for theNoble Globetrotter I,Noble Globetrotter II,Noble Jim Thompson,Noble Jim DayandNoble Clyde Boudreaux, as well as the letter of intent for the unnamedHHI Drillship I, provide opportunities for us to earn performance bonuses based on key performance indicators as defined by Shell. With respect to these contracts, we have included in our backlog an amount equal to 75 percent of the potential performance bonuses for these rigs.rigs, except for theNoble Clyde Boudreauxwhere limited bonus is expected. Our backlog for these rigs includes approximately $496$480 million attributable to these performance bonuses.
 
(3) Our drilling contracts with Pemex for certain jackups operating offshore in Mexico are subject to price review and adjustment of the rig dayrate. Presently, the contract for one jackup has a dayrate indexed to the world average of the highest dayrates published by ODS-Petrodata. After an initial firm dayrate period, the dayrate is generally adjusted quarterly based on formulas calculated from the index. Our contract drilling services backlog has been calculated using the May 31,September 30, 2011 index-based dayrate for periods subsequent to the firm dayrate period.

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(4) a) Pemex has the ability to cancel its drilling contracts on 30 days or less notice without Pemex’s making an early termination payment. At JuneAs of September 30, 2011, we had twelve rigs contracted to Pemex in Mexico, plus one additional rig scheduled to go to work for Pemex in late December 2011, and our backlog includes approximately $251$387 million related to such contracts. Also, ourcontracts at September 30, 2011.
b)
Our drilling contracts generally provide the customer an early termination right in the event we fail to meet certain performance standards, including downtime thresholds. For example, Petrobras has the right to terminate its contracts in the event of excessive downtime. While we do not currently anticipate any cancellations as a result of events that have occurred to date, clients may from time to time have the contractual right to do so.so, which is the case with the drilling contracts for theNoble Dave Beardand theNoble Paul Wolff. However, we have not received any notification concerning contract cancellations to date.
 
(5) Percentages take into account additional capacity from the estimated dates of deployment of our newbuild rigs that are scheduled to commence operations during 2011 through 2014.2015.
 
(6) It is not possible to accurately determine the impact to our revenues or backlog resulting from efforts by operators to cancel or modify drilling contracts because of thedue to U.S. government imposed restrictions and the vigorousrigorous scrutiny for issuance of new drilling permits, and other consequences of the actions by the U.S. government. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, backlog related to our U.S. Gulf of Mexico deepwater rigs totaled $5.5 billion, $334$206 million of which represents backlog for the six-monththree-month period ending December 31, 2011.
 
  We entered into an agreement with Shell, effective June 27, 2010, which provides that Shell may suspend the contracts on three of our units operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico during any period of regulatory restriction by paying reduced suspension dayrates in lieu of the normal operating dayrates. The term of the initial contract is also extended by the suspension period. The impact of this agreement is to shift backlog among periods with an immaterial increase to total backlog because of the reduced suspension rates.
 
(7) 
Noble and a subsidiary of Shell are involved in joint venture agreements to build, operate, and own both theNoble Bully Iand theNoble Bully II. Pursuant to these agreements, each party has an equal 50 percent share in both vessels. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, the combined amount of backlog for these rigs totalstotaled $2.4 billion, all of which is included in our backlog. Noble’s net interest in the backlog for these rigs iswas $1.2 billion.

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Our contract drilling services backlog reported above reflects estimated future revenues attributable to both signed drilling contracts and letters of intent that we expect will become binding contracts. A letter of intent is generally subject to customary conditions, including the execution of a definitive drilling contract. For a number of reasons, it is possible that some customers that have entered into letters of intent will not enter into signed drilling contracts. We calculate backlog for any given unit and period by multiplying the full contractual operating dayrate for such unit by the number of days remaining in the period. The reported contract drilling services backlog does not include amounts representing revenues for mobilization, demobilization and contract preparation, which are not expected to be significant to our contract drilling services revenues, amounts constituting reimbursables from customers or amounts attributable to uncommitted option periods under drilling contracts or letters of intent.
The amount of actual revenues earned and the actual periods during which revenues are earned may be different than the backlog amounts and backlog periods set forth in the table above for various factors, including, but not limited to, shipyard and maintenance projects, operational downtime, weather conditions, bonuses and other factors that result in applicable dayrates lower than the full contractual operating dayrate. In addition, amounts included in the backlog may change because drilling contracts may be varied or modified by mutual consent or customers may exercise early termination rights contained in some of our drilling contracts or decline to enter into a drilling contract after executing a letter of intent. As a result, our backlog as of any particular date may not be indicative of our actual operating results for the subsequent periods for which the backlog is calculated.
As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we estimate Shell and Petrobras represented approximately 64%63% and 23%22%, respectively, of our backlog.

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Internal Investigation
In 2007, we began, and voluntarily contacted the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to advise them of, an internal investigation of the legality under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and local laws of certain reimbursement payments made by our Nigerian affiliate to our customs agents in Nigeria. In 2010, we finalized settlements of this matter with each of the SEC and the DOJ. Pursuant to these settlements, we agreed to pay fines and penalties to the DOJ and the SEC and to certain undertakings, including refraining from violating the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws, self-reporting any violations of the FCPA or such laws to the DOJ and reporting to the DOJ on an annual basis our progress on anti-corruption compliance matters. Our ability to comply with the terms of the settlements is dependent on the success of our ongoing compliance program, including our ability to continue to manage our agents and supervise, train and retain competent employees, and the efforts of our employees to comply with applicable law and our code of business conduct and ethics.
In January 2011, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Attorney General Office initiated an investigation into these same activities. A subsidiary of Noble-Swiss resolved this matter through the execution of a non-prosecution agreement dated January 28, 2011. Pursuant to this agreement, the subsidiary paid $2.5 million to resolve all charges and claims of the Nigerian Government. Any similar investigations or charges and any additional sanctions we may incur could damage our reputation and result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties and curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. Further, resolving any such investigation could be expensive and consume significant time and attention of our senior management.
As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, all of our rigs operating in Nigeria were operating under temporary import permits. To date, we have been successful in obtaining new, or extending existing, temporary import permits. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain new permits or further extensions of permits necessary to continue the operation of our rigs in Nigeria. If we cannot obtain a new permit or an extension necessary to continue operations of any rig, we may need to cease operations under the drilling contract for such rig and relocate such rig from Nigerian waters. We cannot predict what impact these events may have on any such contract or our business in Nigeria, and we could face additional fines and sanctions in Nigeria. Furthermore, we cannot predict what changes, if any, relating to temporary import permit policies and procedures may be established or implemented in Nigeria in the future, or how any such changes may impact our business there.
In 2010, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill was signed into law. The law is designed to create Nigerian content in operations and transactions within the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The law sets forth certain requirements for the utilization of Nigerian human resources and goods and services in oil and gas projects and creates a Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (“NCD Board”) to implement and monitor the law and develop regulations pursuant to the law. The law also establishes a Nigerian Content Development Fund to fund the implementation of the law. The implementation of the law is ongoing and both the manner and timing of final implementation is uncertain. We have participated in a number of meetings with the NCD Board and are analyzing how we might reorganize our operations in Nigeria to meet these requirements, including creating third party minoritynoncontrolling interests in our operating assets. We cannot predict the impact the new law may have on our existing or future operations in Nigeria, but our operations there could be significantly and adversely affected.

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Results of Operations
For the Three Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010
General
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation (Noble-Swiss) for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 (the “Current Quarter”) was $54$135 million, or $0.21$0.53 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $628$738 million, compared to net income for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2010 (the “Comparable Quarter”) of $218$86 million, or $0.85$0.34 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $710$613 million.
The consolidated financial statements of Noble-Swiss include the accounts of Noble-Cayman, and Noble-Swiss conducts substantially all of its business through Noble-Cayman and its subsidiaries. As a result, the financial position and results of operations for Noble-Cayman, and the reasons for material changes in the amount of revenue and expense items between 2011 and 2010, would be the same as the information presented below regarding Noble-Swiss in all material respects, except operating income for Noble-Cayman for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 was $14$19 million higher than operating income for Noble-Swiss for the same period, primarily as a result of depreciation related to Swiss-owned assets and operating costs directly attributable to Noble-Swiss for stewardship related services.

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Rig Utilization, Operating Days and Average Dayrates
Operating revenues and operating costs and expenses for our contract drilling services segment are dependent on three primary metrics — rig utilization, operating days and dayrates. The following table sets forth the average rig utilization, operating days and average dayrates for our rig fleet for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                                
 Average Rig Operating Average                                 
 Utilization (1) Days (2) Dayrates  Average Rig Operating Average 
 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended    Utilization (1) Days (2) Dayrates 
 June 30, June 30, June 30,    Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended   
 2011 2010 2011 2010 % Change 2011 2010 % Change  September 30, September 30, September 30,   
   2011 2010 2011 2010 %Change 2011 2010 %Change 
Jackups  71%  81% 2,797 3,183  -12% $80,742 $96,677  -16%  82%  77% 3,229 3,032  6% $89,352 $90,791  -2%
Semisubmersibles  85%  94% 1,088 1,023  6% 269,798 328,286  -18%  84%  90% 1,086 1,057  3% 315,034 172,727  82%
Drillships  58%  67% 317 182  74% 220,953 242,045  -9%  60%  100% 329 468  -30% 225,669 229,963  -2%
FPSO/Submersibles  0%  0%         0%  26%  64   304,000  
          
Total
  70%  80% 4,202 4,388  -4% $140,296 $156,683  -10%  76%  79% 4,644 4,621  0% $151,782 $126,581  20%
          
   
(1) Information reflects our policy of reporting on the basis of the number of rigs in our fleet excluding newbuild rigs under construction.
 
(2) Information reflects the number of days that our rigs were operating under contract.

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Contract Drilling Services
The following table sets forth the operating revenues and the operating costs and expenses for our contract drilling services segment for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):
                                
 Three Months Ended    Three Months Ended   
 June 30, Change  September 30, Change 
 2011 2010 $ %  2011 2010 $ % 
Operating revenues:
  
Contract drilling services $589,550 $687,510 $(97,960)  -14% $704,892 $584,919 $119,973  21%
Reimbursables (1) 22,982 12,989 9,993  77% 14,646 18,488  (3,842)  -21%
Other 313 603  (290)  -48% 8 635  (627)  -99%
                  
 $612,845 $701,102 $(88,257)  -13% $719,546 $604,042 $115,504  19%
                  
Operating costs and expenses:
  
Contract drilling services $336,728 $275,595 $61,133  22% $358,547 $315,844 $42,703  14%
Reimbursables (1) 17,606 9,626 7,980  83% 11,362 13,696  (2,334)  -17%
Depreciation and amortization 159,843 123,379 36,464  30% 162,837 140,199 22,638  16%
Selling, general and administrative 21,359 23,561  (2,202)  -9% 27,212 25,220 1,992  8%
          559,958 494,959 64,999  13%
 535,536 432,161 103,375  24%         
         
Operating income
 $77,309 $268,941 $(191,632)  -71% $159,588 $109,083 $50,505  46%
                  
   
(1) We record reimbursements from customers for out-of-pocket expenses as operating revenues and the related direct costs as operating expenses. Changes in the amount of these reimbursables generally do not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Operating Revenues.DecreasesIncreases in contract drilling services revenues for the Current Quarter as compared to the Comparable Quarter were driven by reductionsincreases in both average dayrates and operating days. The 1020 percent declineincrease in average dayrates reducedincreased revenues by approximately $69$117 million, and the 4 percent declineslight increase in operating days decreasedincreased revenues by an additional $29$3 million.

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The decreaseincrease in contract drilling services revenues primarily relates to our jackupssemisubmersibles and semisubmersibles,jackups, which generated approximately $82$160 million and $42$13 million lessmore revenue, respectively, in the Current Quarter.
The decreaseincrease in jackupsemisubmersible average dayrates of 16 percent resulted in a $45$155 million decreaseincrease in revenues from the Comparable Quarter. The reduction in dayrates was primarily fromQuarter while the contractual re-pricing of rigs in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Mexico for changes in market conditions in the global shallow water market. The 12 percent decline in jackup operating days resulted in a $37 million decline in revenues. The decrease in utilization primarily related to rigs coming off of contract in Mexico and returning to work for only a portion of the Current Quarter.
The decrease in semisubmersible dayrates of 18 percent resulted in a $64 million decrease in revenues from the Comparable Quarter. This decline was partially offset by a 6 percent increase in operating days which added $22of three percent resulted in an additional $5 million increase in revenue.revenues. The decreaseincrease in semisubmersibles revenue is a result of drilling restrictions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the Comparable Quarter, where lower standby rates replaced the standard operating dayrates for a majority of our contracts. The increase in operating days is primarily from theNoble Jim Dayand theNoble DrillerHomer Ferrington,which were added to the fleet subsequent to JuneSeptember 30, 2010.
The decreasessix percent increase in jackup operating days resulted in an $18 million increase in revenues, which was partially offset by a decrease in jackup average dayrates of two percent which resulted in a $5 million decrease in revenues from the Comparable Quarter. The increase in utilization primarily related to rigs in Mexico that commenced contracts in the second quarter of 2011 and operated for the entire Current Quarter. The reduction in average dayrates resulted primarily from the contractual re-pricing of rigs in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Mexico for changes in market conditions in the global shallow water market.
The increases in revenue for the above rig classes were partially offset by higherlower revenues from our drillships which increased $26and FPSO/submersibles. Revenue from our drillships decreased $33 million in the Current Quarter as compared to the Comparable Quarter. The increasedecrease was primarily attributable to a number of rigs being in the shipyard or stacked during the Current Quarter. Revenue from our FPSO, the drillshipNoble Discoverer,Seilleanwhich was added to, decreased $20 million as it did not operate in the fleet as part of the Frontier acquisition and an increase in operating days amongst our drillships operating in Brazil.Current Quarter.
Operating Costs and Expenses.Contract drilling services operating costs and expenses increased $61$43 million for the Current Quarter as compared to the Comparable Quarter. In addition to the acquisitionrigs added to the fleet as part of the Frontier our newbuild rig,acquisition, theNoble Jim Day, was placed into service in January 2011. These additional units added approximately $45$15 million of operating costs in the Current Quarter. Excluding the additional expenses related to these rigs, our contract drilling costs increased $16$28 million in the Current Quarter from the Comparable Quarter. This change was primarily driven by an $8$11 million increase in fuel,labor and a $10 million increase in mobilization, transportation and start-upfuel costs forrelated to rigs returning, or preparing to return, to work in the Current Quarter, a $3 million increase in rotation costs, a $3 million increase in labor costs from salary increases and a $2$4 million increase in safety and training costs and a $3 million increase in rotation costs.

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The increase in depreciation and amortization in the Current Quarter from the Comparable Quarter was primarily attributable to depreciation on theNoble Jim Day,,rigs added to the additionfleet as part of the Frontier rigsacquisition and additional depreciation related to other capital expenditures on our fleet since the Comparable Quarter.

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Other
The following table sets forth the operating revenues and the operating costs and expenses for our other services for the three months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                                
 Three Months Ended    Three Months Ended   
 June 30, Change  September 30, Change 
 2011 2010 $ %  2011 2010 $ % 
Operating revenues:
  
Labor contract drilling services $14,012 $8,056 $5,956  74% $15,564 $7,887 $7,677  97%
Reimbursables (1) 1,140 764 376  49% 2,792 689 2,103  305%
                  
 $15,152 $8,820 $6,332  72% $18,356 $8,576 $9,780  114%
                  
Operating costs and expenses:
  
Labor contract drilling services $8,750 $5,380 $3,370  63% $8,053 $5,302 $2,751  52%
Reimbursables (1) 1,117 739 378  51% 2,609 655 1,954  298%
Depreciation and amortization 3,276 2,848 428  15% 3,376 3,083 293  10%
Selling, general and administrative 273 247 26  11% 324 262 62  24%
          14,362 9,302 5,060  54%
 13,416 9,214 4,202  46%         
         
Operating (loss) income
 $1,736 $(394) $2,130 **   $3,994 $(726) $4,720  **
                  
   
(1) We record reimbursements from customers for out-of-pocket expenses as operating revenues and the related direct costs as operating expenses. Changes in the amount of these reimbursables generally do not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
 
** Not a meaningful percentage
Operating Revenues and Costs and Expenses.The increase in both revenue and expense primarily relates to the recent expansioncommencement of a refurbishment project with our customer, Shell, for one of its rigs to be operated under a labor contract services in Alaska, combined with operational increases and foreign exchangecurrency fluctuations in our Canadian operations.
The increase in depreciation is for additional corporate-related assets placed in service since the Comparable Quarter.
Other Income and Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses decreasedincreased $2 million in the Current Quarter as compared to the Comparable Quarter. The decreaseincrease relates to a $3 million increase in ongoing legal and tax expenses of $5and a $2 million increase in employee-related and miscellaneous costs in the Current Quarter, partially offset by a $3 million decrease related to our FCPA investigation in the Comparable Quarter, partially offset by a $3 million increase in legal, audit and other expenses in the Current Quarter.
Interest Expense, net of amount capitalized.Interest expense, net of amount capitalized, increased $14$7 million in the Current Quarter as compared to the Comparable Quarter. The increase is a result of $1.25 billion of debt issued in July 2010, which was used to partially fund the Frontier acquisition, and $1.1 billion of debt issued in February 2011, which was primarily used to repay the outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility and to repay our portion of outstanding debt under the joint venture credit facilities, and the $715 million currently drawn on our credit facilities.
Income Tax Provision.Our income tax provision decreased $42$3 million in the Current Quarter primarily fromas a decline in pre-tax earningsresult of approximately 76 percent, which reduced income tax expense by approximately $39 million in the Current Quarter. Contributing to the decrease was a lower effective tax rate of 1512 percent in the Current Quarter as compared to 19 percent in the Comparable Quarter, which decreased income tax expense by approximately $3$12 million. The decrease in the effective tax rate was a result of certain discrete tax items totaling approximately $11 million. Partially offsetting the resolutiondecrease is an increase in pre-tax earnings of uncertainapproximately 43 percent, which increased income tax positions ofexpense by approximately $9 million partially offset by changes in our geographic revenue mix primarily resulting from drilling restrictions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Current Quarter.

 

4847


For the SixNine Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010
General
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation (Noble-Swiss) for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 (the “Current Period”) was $109$244 million, or $0.43$0.96 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $1.2$1.9 billion, compared to net income for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2010 (the “Comparable Period”) of $589$675 million, or $2.28$2.62 per diluted share, on operating revenues of $1.6$2.2 billion.
The consolidated financial statements of Noble-Swiss include the accounts of Noble-Cayman, and Noble-Swiss conducts substantially all of its business through Noble-Cayman and its subsidiaries. As a result, the financial position and results of operations for Noble-Cayman, and the reasons for material changes in the amount of revenue and expense items between 2011 and 2010, would be the same as the information presented below regarding Noble-Swiss in all material respects, except operating income for Noble-Cayman for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 was $27$46 million higher than operating income for Noble-Swiss for the same period, primarily as a result of depreciation related to Swiss owned assets and operating costs directly attributable to Noble-Swiss for stewardship related services.
Rig Utilization, Operating Days and Average Dayrates
Operating revenues and operating costs and expenses for our contract drilling services segment are dependent on three primary metrics — rig utilization, operating days and dayrates. The following table sets forth the average rig utilization, operating days and average dayrates for our rig fleet for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                                                                
 Average Rig Operating Average  Average Rig Operating Average 
 Utilization (1) Days (2) Dayrates  Utilization (1) Days (2) Dayrates 
 Six Months Ended Six Months Ended Six Months Ended    Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended   
 June 30, June 30, June 30,    September 30, September 30, September 30,   
 2011 2010 2011 2010 % Change 2011 2010 % Change  2011 2010 2011 2010 %Change 2011 2010 %Change 
Jackups  67%  81% 5,178 6,324  -18% $80,799 $106,522  -24%  72%  80% 8,407 9,357  -10% $84,084 $101,424  -17%
Semisubmersibles  77%  93% 1,956 1,954  0% 273,374 370,358  -26%  80%  92% 3,042 3,010  1% 288,246 300,971  -4%
Drillships  62%  79% 678 429  58% 263,905 230,679  14%  61%  89% 1,007 897  12% 251,421 230,306  9%
FPSO/Submersibles  0%  0%         0%  10%  64   303,056  
          
Total
  65%  81% 7,812 8,707  -10% $144,916 $171,828  -16%  69%  80% 12,456 13,328  -7% $147,476 $156,142  -6%
          
   
(1) Information reflects our policy of reporting on the basis of the number of rigs in our fleet excluding newbuild rigs under construction.
 
(2) Information reflects the number of days that our rigs were operating under contract.

 

4948


Contract Drilling Services
The following table sets forth the operating revenues and the operating costs and expenses for our contract drilling services segment for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):
                                
 Six Months Ended    Nine Months Ended   
 June 30, Change  September 30, Change 
 2011 2010 $ %  2011 2010 $ % 
Operating revenues:
  
Contract drilling services $1,132,155 $1,496,156 $(364,001)  -24% $1,837,047 $2,081,075 $(244,028)  -12%
Reimbursables (1) 44,586 36,292 8,294  23% 59,232 54,780 4,452  8%
Other 758 814  (56)  -7% 766 1,449  (683)  -47%
                  
 $1,177,499 $1,533,262 $(355,763)  -23% $1,897,045 $2,137,304 $(240,259)  -11%
                  
Operating costs and expenses:
  
Contract drilling services $643,091 $530,026 $113,065  21% $1,001,638 $845,870 $155,768  18%
Reimbursables (1) 34,046 28,495 5,551  19% 45,408 42,191 3,217  8%
Depreciation and amortization 314,731 236,553 78,178  33% 477,568 376,754 100,814  27%
Selling, general and administrative 44,808 45,303  (495)  -1% 72,020 70,523 1,497  2%
(Gain)/Loss on contract extinguishment  (21,202)   (21,202)  **   (21,202)   (21,202)  **
                  
 1,015,474 840,377 175,097  21% 1,575,432 1,335,338 240,094  18%
                  
Operating income
 $162,025 $692,885 $(530,860)  -77% $321,613 $801,966 $(480,353)  -60%
                  
   
(1) We record reimbursements from customers for out-of-pocket expenses as operating revenues and the related direct costs as operating expenses. Changes in the amount of these reimbursables generally do not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
 
** Not a meaningful percentage
Operating Revenues.Decreases in contract drilling services revenues for the Current Period as compared to the Comparable Period were driven by reductions in both average dayrates and operating days. The 16six percent decrease in average dayrates reduced revenues by approximately $210$108 million, and the 10seven percent decrease in operating days decreased revenues by an additional $154$136 million.
The decrease in contract drilling services revenues primarily relates to our jackups, semisubmersibles and semisubmersibles,FPSO/submersibles, which generated approximately $255$242 million, $29 million and $189$19 million less revenue, respectively, in the Current Period.
The decrease in jackup average dayrates of 2417 percent resulted in a $133$146 million decrease in revenues from the Comparable Period. The reduction in average dayrates was primarily from the contractual re-pricing of rigs in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Mexico for changes in market conditions in the global shallow water market. The 1810 percent decline in jackup operating days resulted in a $122$96 million decline in revenues. The decrease in utilization primarily related to rigs coming off of contract in Mexico during the first quarter of 2011, the majority of which did not return to work until late in the second quarter.
The decrease in semisubmersible dayrates of 26four percent resulted in the $189$38 million decrease in revenues from the Comparable Period. The decrease in semisubmersibles revenue is a result of drilling restrictions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico where lower standby rates replaced the standard operating dayrates for a majority of our contracts.contracts during the first half of the year. These decreases were partially offset by a $9 million increase in revenues during the Current Period driven by 32 additional operating days.
Revenue from our FPSO, theNoble Seillean, decreased $19 million as it did not operate in the Current Period.

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The decreases in revenue for the above rig classes were partially offset by higher revenuesan increase in revenue of $47 million from our drillships,drillships. The increase was primarily attributable to a nine percent increase in average dayrates and 12 percent increase in operating days, which increased $80 millioncontributed additional revenue in the Current Period as compared to the Comparable Period.of $21 million and $25 million, respectively. The increase wasis primarily attributable to operations from the drillshipsNoble Discovererand theNoble Phoenix, which were added to the fleet as part of the Frontier acquisition. These drillships contributed an additional $60 million in revenue, while the drillships operating in Brazil added an additional $20 million in revenue.
Operating Costs and Expenses.Contract drilling services operating costs and expenses increased $113$156 million for the Current Period as compared to the Comparable Period. In addition to the acquisitionrigs added to the fleet as part of the Frontier acquisition, theNoble Dave Beardand theNoble Jim Daywere placed into service in March 2010 and January 2011, respectively. These additions added approximately $89$108 million of operating costs in the Current Period. Excluding the additional expenses related to these rigs, our contract drilling costs increased $24$48 million in the Current Period from the Comparable Period. This change was primarily driven by an $18a $13 million increase in maintenance and rig-related expense, $12 million increase in mobilization costs, $8 million increase in fuel and transportation costs and start-up$3 million increase in labor costs related to our rigs returning, or preparing to return, to work in Brazil and Mexico, coupled with an $11$6 million increase in maintenance expense, partially offset by a $5rotation costs and $6 million decreaseincrease in laborsafety and other costs resulting from the decrease in overall rig utilization.training costs.

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The increase in depreciation and amortization in the Current Period from the Comparable Period was primarily attributable to depreciation on newbuilds added to the fleet, the addition of the Frontier rigs and additional depreciation related to other capital expenditures on our fleet since the Comparable Period.
Other
The following table sets forth the operating revenues and the operating costs and expenses for our other services for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010:
                                
 Six Months Ended    Nine Months Ended   
 June 30, Change  September 30, Change 
 2011 2010 $ %  2011 2010 $ % 
Operating revenues:
  
Labor contract drilling services $27,559 $15,817 $11,742  74% $43,123 $23,704 $19,419  82%
Reimbursables (1) 1,827 1,694 133  8% 4,619 2,383 2,236  94%
                  
 $29,386 $17,511 $11,875  68% $47,742 $26,087 $21,655  83%
                  
Operating costs and expenses:
  
Labor contract drilling services $17,273 $11,268 $6,005  53% $25,326 $16,570 $8,756  53%
Reimbursables (1) 1,780 1,613 167  10% 4,389 2,268 2,121  94%
Depreciation and amortization 6,510 5,531 979  18% 9,886 8,612 1,274  15%
Selling, general and administrative 539 476 63  13% 863 738 125  17%
                  
 26,102 18,888 7,214  38% 40,464 28,188 12,276  44%
                  
Operating (loss) income
 $3,284 $(1,377) $4,661  **  $7,278 $(2,101) $9,379  **
                  
   
(1) We record reimbursements from customers for out-of-pocket expenses as operating revenues and the related direct costs as operating expenses. Changes in the amount of these reimbursables generally do not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
 
** Not a meaningful percentage
Operating Revenues and Costs and Expenses.The increase in both revenue and expense primarily relates to the recent expansioninitial start-up costs and commencement of a refurbishment project with our customer, Shell, for one of its rigs to be operated under a labor contract services in Alaska, during the Current Period, combined with operational increases and foreign exchangecurrency fluctuations in our existing Canadian operations.
The increase in depreciation is for additional corporate-related assets placed in service since the Comparable Period.

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Other Income and Expenses
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses increased $2 million in the Current Period as compared to the Comparable Period. The increase relates to a $5 million increase in ongoing legal and tax expenses and a $3 million increase in employee-related and miscellaneous costs in the Current Period, partially offset by a $6 million decrease related to our FCPA investigation in the Comparable Period.
Interest Expense, net of amount capitalized.Interest expense, net of amount capitalized, increased $33$40 million in the Current Period as compared to the Comparable Period. The increase is a result of $1.25 billion of debt issued in July 2010, which was used to partially fund the Frontier acquisition, and $1.1 billion of debt issued in February 2011, which was primarily used to repay the outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility and to repay our portion of outstanding debt under the joint venture credit facilities, and Current Period drawdowns on the credit facilities.
Income Tax Provision.Our income tax provision decreased $82$84 million in the Current Period primarily from a decline in pre-tax earnings of approximately 8164 percent, which reduced income tax expense by approximately $86$81 million in the Current Period. ThisThe remaining $3 million decrease was partially offset byis a higherresult of a lower effective tax rate of 1915 percent in the Current Period as compared to 1516 percent in the Comparable Period, which increased income tax expense by approximately $4 million.Period. The increasedecrease in the effective tax rate was a result of certain discrete tax items totaling approximately $17 million, partially offset by a change in our geographic revenue mix primarily resulting from drilling restrictions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, partially offset by the resolution of uncertain tax positions of $9 million.Mexico.

 

51


Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Net cash from operating activities for the Current Period was $245$474 million, which compared to $1.0$1.3 billion in the Comparable Period. The decrease in net cash from operating activities in the Current Period was primarily attributable to a significant decline in net income coupled with an increase in accounts receivable. The increase in accounts receivable is primarily related to the increased fleet activity in 2011 and certain disputed amounts, which we believe will ultimately be collected. During the Current Period, we entered into an additional $600 million revolving credit facility, and at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 we had $775$485 million available under our credit facilities. We had working capital of $351$352 million and $110 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively. Primarily as a result of our $1.1 billion debt offering in February 2011 and an increase in net borrowings on our credit facilities during the Current Period of $385$675 million, total debt as a percentage of total debt plus equity increased to 31.132 percent at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 from 27.528 percent at December 31, 2010. Additionally, at JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had a total contract drilling services backlog of approximately $13$12.8 billion. Our backlog as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 reflects a commitment of 7381 percent of operating days for the remainder of 2011 and 4353 percent for 2012. See additional information regarding our backlog at “Contract Drilling Services Backlog.”
Our principal capital resource in the Current Period was net cash from operating activities of $245 million, cash generated from our $1.1 billion senior notenotes offering, and net borrowings under our bank credit facilities of $385 million. Net$675 million and net cash generated from operating activities in the Comparable Period totaled $1.0 billion.of $474 million.
As a result of the cash generated by our operations, our cash on hand and the availability under our bank credit facilities, we believe our liquidity and financial condition are sufficient to meet all of our reasonablyOur currently anticipated cash flow needs including:include the following:
  normal recurring operating expenses;
 
  committed capital expenditures, including expenditures for newbuilds and other miscellaneousnewbuild projects currently underway;
discretionary capital expenditures, including various capital upgrades; and
 
  payments of return of capital in the form of a reduction of par value of our shares (in lieu of dividends).
We currently expect to fund these cash flow needs with cash generated by our operations, cash on hand and borrowings under our existing bank credit facilities. However, given the level of expenditures we expect to incur through the end of 2012, a significant portion of which relates to our newbuild program, we may require capital in excess of the amount provided through these sources. Subject to market and other conditions, we may raise such additional capital in a number of ways, including accessing capital markets, obtaining additional lines of credit or disposing of assets. We also retain the flexibility to delay or cancel certain discretionary capital expenditures as necessary.
Capital Expenditures
Our primary liquidity requirement during 2011 is for capital expenditures. Capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, totaled $1.4$2.0 billion and $531$886 million for the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Capital expenditures for 2010 do not include the fair value of assets acquired as part of the Frontier acquisition.

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At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had 1113 rigs under construction, and capital expenditures for new construction in 2011 totaled $972 million. Capital expenditures for newbuild rigs during the first sixnine months of 2011 consisted of the followingtotaled $1.3 billion, as follows (in millions):
        
Rig type/name 
Wholly-owned drillships
 
Globetrotter class 
Noble Globetrotter I
 $176.2 
Noble Globetrotter II
 78.3 
 Capital  
Project Expenditures 
Gusto P10,000 
HHI Drillship I
 161.1 
HHI Drillship II
 161.5 
HHI Drillship III
 $161.0  161.6 
HHI Drillship II
 160.5 
HHI Drillship I
 160.3 
Noble Globetrotter I
 124.5 
HHI Drillship IV
 50.0 
 
Joint venture owned drillships
 
GustoMSC Bully PRD 12,000 
Noble Bully I
 79.6  149.4 
Noble Bully II
 76.5  114.1 
Noble Globetrotter II
 76.5 
 
Wholly-owned jackups
 
F&G JU-3000N 
Noble Jackup I
 43.5 
Noble Jackup II
 2.4 
Noble Jackup III
 42.9  45.1 
Noble Jackup IV
 42.9  44.4 
Noble Jackup I
 41.5 
Noble Jackup II
 1.0 
Other 4.3 
Noble Jackup V
 44.4 
Noble Jackup VI
 44.4 
    
Total $971.5 
Other recently completed newbuilds 4.2 
      
Total Newbuild Capital Expenditures
 $1,280.6 
   

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In addition to the newbuild expenditures noted above, capital expenditures during 2011 consisted of the following:of:
$293 million for major projects, including $82 million to upgrade two drillships currently operating in Brazil;
$108 million for other capitalized expenditures including major maintenance and regulatory expenditures which generally have useful lives ranging from 3 to 5 years; and
$56 million in capitalized interest.
$463 million for major projects, including $130 million to upgrade two drillships currently operating in Brazil;
$156 million for other capitalized expenditures, including major maintenance and regulatory expenditures which generally have useful lives ranging from 3 to 5 years; and
$88 million in capitalized interest.
Our total capital expenditure estimate for 2011 is approximately $2.5$2.7 billion. In connection with our 2011 and future capital expenditure programs, as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had outstanding commitments, including shipyard and purchase commitments, for approximately $2.6$3.4 billion, of which $900 million$1.1 billion is anticipated to be spent within the next twelve months. Our remaining 2011 capital expenditure budget and our 2012 capital expenditures will generally be spent at our discretion. We may accelerate or delay capital projects as needed.
From time to time we consider possible projects that would require expenditures that are not included in our capital budget, and such unbudgeted expenditures could be significant. In addition, we will continue to evaluate acquisitions of drilling units from time to time. Other factors that could cause actual capital expenditures to materially exceed plan include delays and cost overruns in shipyards (including costs attributable to labor shortages), shortages of equipment, latent damage or deterioration to hull, equipment and machinery in excess of engineering estimates and assumptions, changes in governmental regulations and requirements and changes in design criteria or specifications during repair or construction.

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Share Repurchases and Dividends
At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, 6.8 million registered shares remained available under the existing Board authorization for our share repurchase program. No shares have been repurchased under this authorization during the nine months ended September 30, 2011. During the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we acquired approximately 0.20.3 million shares surrendered by employees for taxes payable upon the vesting of restricted stock and exercises of options for $9$10 million. Future repurchases by Noble-Swiss will be subject to the requirements of Swiss law, including the requirement that Noble-Swiss and its subsidiaries may only repurchase shares if and to the extent that sufficient freely distributable reserves are available.
Our most recent quarterly payment to shareholders in the form of a capital reduction, which was paid on May 19, 2011 to holders of record on May 9, 2011, was 0.13 CHF per share, or an aggregate of approximately $37 million. The declaration and payment of dividends in the future by Noble-Swiss and the making of distributions of capital, including returns of capital in the form of par value reductions, require authorization of the shareholders of Noble-Swiss. The amount of such dividends, distributions and returns of capital will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, future business prospects, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors and shareholders.
In April 2011, our shareholders approved the payment of a return of capital through a reduction of the par value of our shares in a total amount equal to 0.52 CHF per share to be paid in four equal installments scheduled for August 2011, November 2011, February 2012 and May 2012. The payments will be made in U.S. Dollars based on the CHF/USD exchange rate available approximately two business days prior to the payment date. Although the amount of the return of capital, expressed in Swiss francs, is fixed, the amount of the payment in U.S. Dollars will fluctuate based on the exchange rate. The exchange rate as published by the Swiss National Bank on July 29,October 28, 2011 was 0.80170.8625 CHF/1.0 USD. These returns of capital will require us to make total cash payments of approximately $82$38  million during the remainder of 2011 (based on the exchange rate on July 29,October 28, 2011).
Our most recent quarterly payment to shareholders in the form of a capital reduction, which was paid on August 18, 2011 to holders of record on August 8, 2011, was 0.13 CHF per share, or an aggregate of approximately $42 million. The declaration and payment of dividends in the future by Noble-Swiss and the making of distributions of capital, including returns of capital in the form of par value or additional paid-in capital reductions, require authorization of the shareholders of Noble-Swiss. The amount of such dividends, distributions and returns of capital will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, future business prospects, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors and shareholders.
Credit Facilities and Long-Term Debt
We have two separate revolving credit facilities in place which provide us with a total borrowing capacity of $1.2 billion. One credit facility, which has a capacity of $600 million, matures in 2013, and during the first quarter of 2011, we entered into an additional $600 million revolving credit facility which matures in 2015 (together referred to as the “Credit Facilities”). The covenants and events of default under the Credit Facilities are substantially similar, and each facility contains a covenant that limits our ratio of debt to total tangible capitalization, as defined in the Credit Facilities, to 0.60. We were in compliance with all covenants as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011.
The Credit Facilities provide us with the ability to issue up to $300 million in letters of credit in the aggregate. While the issuance of letters of credit does not increase our borrowings outstanding under the Credit Facilities, it does reduce the amount available. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had borrowings of $425$715 million outstanding and no letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facilities. We believe that we maintain good relationships with our lenders under the Credit Facilities, and we believe that our lenders have the liquidity and capability to perform should the need arise for us to draw on the Credit Facilities.

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The indentures governing our outstanding senior unsecured notes contain covenants that place restrictions on certain merger and consolidation transactions, unless we are the surviving entity or the other party assumes the obligations under the indenture, and on the ability to sell or transfer all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, there are restrictions on incurring or assuming certain liens and sale and lease-back transactions. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we were in compliance with all our debt covenants. We continually monitor compliance with the covenants under our Credit Facilities and senior notes and, based on our expectations for 2011, expect to remain in compliance during the year.
At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had letters of credit of $84$74 million and performance and tax assessment bonds totaling $347$295 million supported by surety bonds outstanding. Additionally, certain of our subsidiaries issue, from time to time, guarantees of the temporary import status of rigs or equipment imported into certain countries in which we operate. These guarantees are issued in lieu of payment of custom, value added or similar taxes in those countries.

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Our long-term debt, including current maturities, was $3.5$3.8 billion at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 as compared to $2.8 billion at December 31, 2010. The increase in debt is a result of the issuance of $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes and $385$675 million of additional net borrowings on our Credit Facilities, partially offset by the repayment of $693 million in joint venture credit facilities. For additional information on our long-term debt, see Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.
In February 2011, we issued through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Noble Holding International Limited (“NHIL”), $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes in three separate tranches, comprising $300 million of 3.05% Senior Notes due 2016, $400 million of 4.625% Senior Notes due 2021, and $400 million of 6.05% Senior Notes due 2041. A portion of the net proceeds of approximately $1.09 billion, after expenses, was used to repay the outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility and to repay our portion of outstanding debt under the joint venture credit facilities discussed below.
In the first quarter of 2011, the joint venture credit facilities, which had a combined outstanding balance of $693 million, were repaid in full through contributions to the joint ventures from Noble and Shell. Shell contributed $361 million in equity to fund their portion of the repayment of joint venture credit facilities and related interest rate swaps, which were settled concurrent with the repayment and termination of the joint venture credit facilities.
In January 2011, the Bully joint ventures issued notes to the joint venture partners totaling $70 million. The interest rate on these notes was 10%, payable semi-annually in arrears and in kind on June 30 and December 31 commencing in June 2011. The purpose of these notes was to provide additional liquidity to the joint ventures in connection with the shipyard construction of theBullyvessels.
In April 2011, the Bully joint venture partners entered into a subscription agreement, pursuant to which each partner was issued equity in each of the Bully joint ventures in exchange for the cancellation of all outstanding joint venture partner notes. The subscription agreement has the effect of converting all joint venture partner notes, including the contribution noted above, into equity of the respective joint venture. The total capital contributed as a result of these agreements was $146 million, which included $142 million in outstanding notes, plus accrued interest. Our portion of the capital contribution, totaling $73 million, was eliminated in consolidation.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In October 2009, the FASB issued guidance that impacts the recognition of revenue in multiple-deliverable arrangements. The guidance establishes a selling-price hierarchy for determining the selling price of a deliverable. The goal of this guidance is to clarify disclosures related to multiple-deliverable arrangements and to align the accounting with the underlying economics of the multiple-deliverable transaction. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.
In January 2010, the FASB issued guidance relating to the disclosure of the fair value of assets. This guidance calls for additional information to be given regarding the transfer of items in and out of respective categories. In addition, it requires additional disclosures regarding the purchase, sales, issuances, and settlements of assets that are classified as level three within the FASB fair value hierarchy. This guidance is generally effective for annual and interim periods ending after December 15, 2009. However, the disclosures about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the roll-forward activity in Level 3 fair value measurements were deferred until fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.

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In December 2010, the FASB issued guidance that requires a public entity to disclose pro forma information for business combinations that occurred in the current reporting period. The disclosures include pro forma revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period as though the acquisition date for all business combinations that occurred during the year had been as of the beginning of the annual reporting period. If comparative financial statements are presented, the pro forma revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the comparable prior reporting period should be reported as though the acquisition date for all business combinations that occurred during the current year had been as of the beginning of the comparable prior annual reporting period. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2010. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.

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In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance that modified the wording used to describe many of the requirements in accounting literature for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. The goal of the amendment is to create consistency between the United States and international accounting standards. The guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. While we are still evaluating this guidance, the adoption of this guidance shouldis not expected to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.
In June 2011, the FASB issued guidance that allows an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. The amendment no longer allows an entity to show changes to other comprehensive income solely through the statement of equity. For publicly traded entities, the guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. While we are still evaluating this guidance, the adoption of this guidance willis not expected to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or financial disclosures.

 

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Item 3.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk is the potential for loss from a change in the value of a financial instrument as a result of fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates or equity prices, as further described below.
Interest Rate Risk
We are subject to market risk exposure related to changes in interest rates on borrowings under the Credit Facilities. Interest on borrowings under the Credit Facilities is at an agreed upon percentage point spread over LIBOR, or a base rate stated in the agreements. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, we had $425$715 million outstanding under the Credit Facilities. Assuming our current level of debt, a change in LIBOR rates of 100 basis pointsone percent would increase our interest charges by approximately $4$7 million per year.
We maintain certain debt instruments at a fixed rate whose fair value will fluctuate based on changes in interest rates and market perceptions of our credit risk. The fair value of our total debt was $3.7$3.4 billion and $2.9 billion at JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively. The increase was primarily a result of our issuance of $1.1 billion in debt in February 2011 and $385$675 million of additional net borrowings on the Credit Facilities, partially offset by the repayment of $693 million in joint venture credit facilities coupled with changes in fair value related to changes in interest rates and market perceptions of our credit risk.
Foreign Currency Risk
As a multinational company, we conduct business worldwide. Our functional currency is primarily the U.S. dollar, which is consistent with the oil and gas industry. However, outside the United States, a portion of our expenses are incurred in local currencies. Therefore, when the U.S. dollar weakens (strengthens) in relation to the currencies of the countries in which we operate, our expenses reported in U.S. dollars will increase (decrease).
We are exposed to risks on future cash flows to the extent that local currency expenses exceed revenues denominated in local currency that are different than the functional currency. To help manage this potential risk, we periodically enter into derivative instruments to manage our exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, and we may conduct hedging activities in future periods to mitigate such exposure. These contracts are primarily accounted for as cash flow hedges, with the effective portion of changes in the fair value of the hedge recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” (“AOCL”). Amounts recorded in AOCL are reclassified into earnings in the same period or periods that the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The ineffective portion of changes in the fair value of the hedged item is recorded directly to earnings. We have documented policies and procedures to monitor and control the use of derivative instruments. We do not engage in derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes, nor are we a party to leveraged derivatives.
Our North Sea and Brazil operations have a significant amount of their cash operating expenses payable in local currencies. To limit the potential risk of currency fluctuations, we typically maintain short-term forward contracts settling monthly in their respective local currencies. The forward contract settlements in the remainder of 2011 represent approximately 5243 percent of these forecasted local currency requirements. The notional amount of the forward contracts outstanding, expressed in U.S. dollars, was approximately $113$71 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011. Total unrealized gainslosses related to these forward contracts were $4$6 million as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011 and were recorded as part of AOCL. A 10 percent change in the exchange rate for the local currencies would change the fair value of these forward contracts by approximately $12$7 million.
We have entered into a firm commitment for the construction of theNoble Globetrotter Idrillship. The drillship is beingwas constructed in two phases, with the second phase being installation and commissioning of the topside equipment. The contract for this second phase of construction iswas denominated in Euros, and in order to mitigate the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, we entered into forward contracts to purchase Euros. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2011, all amounts related to the aggregate notional amount offorward contracts have settled. We accounted for the remaining outstanding forward contract was 10 million Euros. This forward contract settles in connection with a required payment under the construction contract. We are accounting for this forward contractcontracts as a fair value hedge. Thehedges, and their fair market value of this derivative instrument iswas included in “Other current assets/liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Gains and losses from this fair value hedge would be recognized in earnings currently, along with the change in fair value of the hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged, if any portion was found to be ineffective. The fair market value of this outstanding forward contract totaled approximately $51,000 at June 30, 2011. No gain or loss was recognized in the income statement for the three and sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 respectively. A 10 percent change in the exchange rate for the Euro would change the fair value of this forward contract by approximately $1 million.or 2010.

 

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Market Risk
We sponsor the Noble Drilling Corporation 401(k) Savings Restoration Plan (“Restoration Plan”). The Restoration Plan is a nonqualified, unfunded employee benefit plan under which certain highly compensated employees may elect to defer compensation in excess of amounts deferrable under our 401(k) savings plan. The Restoration Plan has no assets, and amounts withheld for the Restoration Plan are kept by us for general corporate purposes. The investments selected by employees and the associated returns are tracked on a phantom basis. Accordingly, we have a liability to employees for amounts originally withheld plus phantom investment income or less phantom investment losses. We are at risk for phantom investment income and, conversely, benefit should phantom investment losses occur. At JuneSeptember 30, 2011, our liability under the Restoration Plan totaled $7$5 million. We previously purchased investments that closely correlate to the investment elections made by participants in the Restoration Plan in order to mitigate the impact of the phantom investment income and losses on our consolidated financial statements. The value of these investments held for our benefit totaled $7$4 million at JuneSeptember 30, 2011. A 10 percent change in the fair value of the phantom investments would change our liability by approximately $0.7$0.4 million. Any change in the fair value of the phantom investments would be mitigated by a change in the investments held for our benefit.
We also have a U.S. noncontributory defined benefit pension plan that covers certain salaried employees and a U.S. noncontributory defined benefit pension plan that covers certain hourly employees, whose initial date of employment is prior to August 1, 2004 (collectively referred to as our “qualified U.S. plans”). These plans are governed by the Noble Drilling Corporation Retirement Trust. The benefits from these plans are based primarily on years of service and, for the salaried plan, employees’ compensation near retirement. These plans are designed to qualify under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), and our funding policy is consistent with funding requirements of ERISA and other applicable laws and regulations. We make cash contributions, or utilize credits available to us, for the qualified U.S. plans when required. The benefit amount that can be covered by the qualified U.S. plans is limited under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) of 1986. Therefore, we maintain an unfunded, nonqualified excess benefit plan designed to maintain benefits for all employees at the formula level in the qualified U.S. plans.
In addition to the U.S. plans, each of Noble Drilling (Land Support) Limited, Noble Enterprises Limited and Noble Drilling (Nederland) B.V., all indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Noble-Swiss, maintains a pension plan that covers all of its salaried, non-union employees (collectively referred to as our “non-U.S. plans”). Benefits are based on credited service and employees’ compensation near retirement, as defined by the plans.
Changes in market asset values related to the pension plans noted above could have a material impact upon our “Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income” and could result in material cash expenditures in future periods.
Item 4.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble-Swiss, and Thomas L. Mitchell, Senior Vice President, ChiefDennis J. Lubojacky, Principal Financial Officer Treasurer and ControllerPrincipal Accounting Officer of Noble-Swiss, have evaluated the disclosure controls and procedures of Noble-Swiss as of the end of the period covered by this report. On the basis of this evaluation, Mr. Williams and Mr. MitchellLubojacky have concluded that Noble-Swiss’ disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011. Noble-Swiss’ disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by Noble-Swiss in the reports that it files with or submits to the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
David W. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble-Cayman, and Dennis J. Lubojacky, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Noble-Cayman, have evaluated the disclosure controls and procedures of Noble-Cayman as of the end of the period covered by this report. On the basis of this evaluation, Mr. Williams and Mr. Lubojacky have concluded that Noble-Cayman’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of JuneSeptember 30, 2011. Noble-Cayman’s disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by Noble-Cayman in the reports that it files with or submits to the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

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There was no change in either Noble-Swiss’ or Noble-Cayman’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended JuneSeptember 30, 2011 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of each of Noble-Swiss or Noble-Cayman, respectively.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Information regarding legal proceedings is set forth in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 1A.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Business
The risk factor below updates and supplements the risks described under “Risk Factors Relating to Our Business” in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and should be considered together with the risk factors described in that report.
We may have difficulty obtaining or maintaining insurance in the future and our insurance coverage and contractual indemnity rights may not protect us against all of the risks and hazards we face.
We generally identify the operational hazards for which we will procure insurance coverage based on the likelihood of loss, the potential magnitude of loss, the cost of coverage, the requirementrequirements of our customer contracts and applicable legal requirements. We do not procure insurance coverage for all of the potential risks and hazards we may face. Furthermore, no assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain insurance against all of the risks and hazards we face or that we will be able to obtain or maintain adequate insurance at rates and with deductibles or retention amounts that we consider commercially reasonable.
Although we maintain what we believe to be an appropriate level of insurance covering hazards and risks we currently encounter during our operations, we do not insure against all possible hazards and risks. Furthermore, our insurance carriers may interpret our insurance policies such that they do not cover losses for which we make claims. Our insurance policies may also have exclusions of coverage for some losses. Uninsured exposures may include expatriate activities prohibited by U.S. laws, radiation hazards, certain loss or damage to property onboard our rigs and losses relating to shore-based terrorist acts or strikes.
In addition, the damage sustained to offshore oil and gas assets as a result of hurricanes in recent years caused the insurance market for U.S. named windstorm perils to deteriorate significantly. Consequently, we currently self insureself-insure U.S. named windstorm coverage for our units deployed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. If one or more future significant weather-related events occur in the Gulf of Mexico, or in any other geographic area in which we operate, we may experience increases in insurance costs, additional coverage restrictions or unavailability of certain insurance products.
Under our drilling contracts, liability with respect to personnel and property is customarily assigned on a “knock-for-knock” basis, which means that we and our customers assume liability for our respective personnel and property, irrespective of the fault or negligence of the party indemnified. Although our drilling contracts generally provide for indemnification from our customers for certain liabilities, including liabilities resulting from pollution or contamination originating below the surface of the water, enforcement of these contractual rights to indemnity may be limited by public policy and other considerations and, in any event, may not adequately cover our losses from such incidents. There can also be no assurance that those parties with contractual obligations to indemnify us will necessarily be in a financial position to do so.

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If a significant accident or other event occurs and is not fully covered by our insurance or a contractual indemnity, it could materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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As a result of our significant cash flow needs, we may be required to incur additional indebtedness, or delay or cancel discretionary capital expenditures.


Our currently anticipated cash flow needs include the following:
normal recurring operating expenses;
committed capital expenditures, including expenditures for newbuild projects currently underway;
discretionary capital expenditures, including various capital upgrades; and
payments of return of capital in the form of a reduction of par value of our shares (in lieu of dividends).
In order to fund our capital expenditures, we may need funding beyond the amount available to us from cash generated by our operations, cash on hand and borrowings under our existing bank credit facilities. We may raise such additional capital in a number of ways, including accessing capital markets, obtaining additional lines of credit or disposing of assets. However, we can provide no assurance that any of these options will be available to us on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Our ability to obtain financing or to access the capital markets may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing and the covenants in our existing debt agreements, as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Even if we are successful in obtaining additional capital through debt financings, incurring additional indebtedness may significantly increase our interest expense and may reduce our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions or to fund working capital needs, because we will require additional funds to service our outstanding indebtedness.
If we fail to obtain the capital necessary to fund our capital expenditures, we may delay or cancel discretionary capital expenditures, which could have certain adverse consequences including delaying upgrades or equipment purchases that could make the affected rigs less competitive and negatively affect our ability to contract such rigs.
Item 2.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
The following table sets forth for the periods indicated certain information with respect to purchases of shares by Noble-Swiss:
                 
          Total Number of  Maximum Number 
          Shares Purchased  of Shares that May 
  Total Number  Average  as Part of Publicly  Yet Be Purchased 
  of Shares  Price Paid  Announced Plans  Under the Plans 
Period Purchased  per Share  or Programs(1)  or Programs(1) 
April 2011  705  $43.33(2)     6,769,891 
May 2011  60,000  $41.87(2)     6,769,891 
June 2011  29,330  $37.45(2)     6,769,891 
                 
          Total Number of  Maximum Number 
          Shares Purchased  of Shares that May 
  Total Number  Average  as Part of Publicly  Yet Be Purchased 
  of Shares  Price Paid  Announced Plans  Under the Plans 
Period Purchased  per Share  or Programs(1)  or Programs(1) 
July 2011  17,429  $36.89(2)     6,769,891 
August 2011  728  $31.23(2)     6,769,891 
September 2011    $0      6,769,891 
   
(1) All share purchases made in the open market and were pursuant to the share repurchase program which our Board of Directors authorized and adopted. Our repurchase program has no date of expiration.
 
(2) Amounts represent shares surrendered by employees for withholding taxes payable upon the vesting of restricted stock or exercise of stock options.
Item 6.
Item 6. Exhibits
The information required by this Item 6 is set forth in the Index to Exhibits accompanying this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation
Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation
     
/s/ David W. Williams
 
David W. Williams
 August 8,November 2, 2011
 
Date
  
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)    
     
/s/ Thomas L. MitchellDennis. J. Lubojacky
 
Thomas L. MitchellDennis J. Lubojacky
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Controller    
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)    
     
Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company
    
     
/s/ David W. Williams
 
David W. Williams
 August 8,November 2, 2011
 
Date
  
President and Chief Executive Officer    
(Principal Executive Officer)    
     
/s/ Dennis J. Lubojacky
 
Dennis J. Lubojacky
    
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer    
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)    

 

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Index to Exhibits
     
Exhibit  
Number Exhibit
     
 2.1  Agreement and Plan of Merger, Reorganization and Consolidation, dated as of December 19, 2008, among Noble Corporation, a Swiss corporation (“Noble-Swiss”), Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company (“Noble-Cayman”), and Noble Cayman Acquisition Ltd. (filed as Exhibit 1.1 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 22, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 2.2  Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger, Reorganization and Consolidation, dated as of February 4, 2009, among Noble-Swiss, Noble-Cayman and Noble Cayman Acquisition Ltd. (filed as Exhibit 2.2 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 4, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 3.1  Articles of Association of Noble-Swiss.
     
 3.2  By-laws of Noble-Swiss (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to Noble-Swiss’ Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 27, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 3.3  Memorandum and Articles of Association of Noble-Cayman (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 30, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 4.1  Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of February 11, 2011 among Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company; the Lenders from time to time parties thereto; Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender and an Issuing Bank; Barclays Capital, a division of Barclays Bank PLC, and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., as Co-Syndication Agents; and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Barclays Capital, a division of Barclays Bank PLC, and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Lead Bookrunners (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 17, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 4.2  First Amendment to Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of March 11, 2011 among Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company; the Lenders from time to time parties thereto; Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent, Swingline Lender and an Issuing Bank; Barclays Capital, a division of Barclays Bank PLC, and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., as Co-Syndication Agents; and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Barclays Capital, a division of Barclays Bank PLC, and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Lead Bookrunners (filed as Exhibit 4.2 to Noble-Cayman’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 4.3  Indenture, dated as of November 21, 2008, between Noble Holding International Limited, as Issuer, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 21, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 4.4  Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 3, 2011, among Noble Holding International Limited, as Issuer, Noble Corporation, as Guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee, relating to 3.05% Senior Notes due 2016 of Noble Holding International Limited, 4.625% Senior Notes due 2021 of Noble Holding International Limited, and 6.05% Senior Notes due 2041 of Noble Holding International Limited (filed as Exhibit 4.2 to Noble-Cayman’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 26, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference).
     
 31.1  Certification of David W. Williams pursuant to the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a), for Noble-Swiss and for Noble-Cayman.
     
 31.2  Certification of Thomas L. Mitchell pursuant to the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a), for Noble-Swiss.
31.3Certification of Dennis J. Lubojacky pursuant to the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Rule 13a- 14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a), for Noble-Swiss and Noble-Cayman.
     
 32.1+ Certification of David W. Williams pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, for Noble-Swiss and for Noble-Cayman.
     
 32.2+ Certification of Thomas L. Mitchell pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, for Noble-Swiss.
32.3+Certification of Dennis J. Lubojacky pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, for Noble-Swiss and Noble-Cayman.
     
 101+ Interactive Data File
   
+ 
Furnished in accordance with Item 601(b)(32)(ii) of Regulation S-K.

 

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