Noble Corporation has installed a stemless gate valve on the Noble BlackHornet drillship for managed pressure drilling operations.
Developed with Kinetic Pressure Control, the SGV provides a dedicated method of sealing the wellbore during MPD work. The equipment has been integrated with the drillship’s blowout preventer system.
Teams from Noble Corporation worked with Kinetic Pressure Control and other industry specialists to assess the valve’s reliability, installation requirements, maintenance considerations and integration with existing well control systems.
Noble Corporation said the SGV is intended to help preserve the integrity of critical well control equipment while supporting more efficient operations.
Built in 2014, the Noble BlackHornet is a seventh-generation Gusto P10000 drillship. It can operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drill to a maximum depth of 40,000 feet.
The drillship is equipped with dynamic positioning, dual-activity capability, a maximum hook-load capacity of 1,250 tonnes and two seven-ram blowout preventers. It is working for BP in the U.S. Gulf.
As of 27 July 2026, Noble Corporation had a backlog of $6.8 billion, excluding mobilization and demobilization revenue.
Its fleet of 24 marketed floaters was 61% contracted in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 68% in the previous quarter. Contract awards secured since the prior quarter added approximately 16 months of floater backlog.
Leading-edge day rates for Tier-1 drillships increased to the mid-$400,000s. Utilization of the company’s five marketed ultra-harsh jack-ups rose to 80% in the second quarter from 66% in the preceding quarter.
CEO Robert Eifler said revised guidance mainly reflected lower revenue from two rigs operating in Brazil and changes to the sequencing of backlog in the second half of 2026 for the Noble Viking, Noble Innovator and Noble Intrepid.
He said the outlook remained promising for deepwater and harsh-environment rigs in 2027 and beyond, citing recent contract awards at higher day rates.
The Noble Viking recently secured a six-well contract with an undisclosed operator in Asia Pacific. The assignment is scheduled to begin in early 2028 and is expected to take approximately 300 days.
The firm period is expected to provide continuous utilization from the first quarter through the fourth quarter of 2028. Exercised options could extend the work into the first quarter of 2029.
The Noble Claus Bachmann also secured a three-well contract with BP in the UK North Sea. The semi-submersible rig is expected to begin the work in March 2027.
The contract has an estimated duration of 150 to 210 days, a day rate of $320,000 and a $5 million mobilization fee. The rig’s three-year campaign with Aker BP is scheduled to begin directly after the new contract.
