Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has secured a new contract with Total Austral, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, for its jack-up rig, Noble Regina Allen. This contract follows a period of repair for the rig after a mechanical failure in late 2022.

The rig will be employed for drilling three horizontal wells at the Fénix natural gas project in southern Argentina. TotalEnergies' choice of the Noble Regina Allen rig is in line with its low-emissions strategy, aiming for 9 kg CO2e/boe.

The contract is set to commence in the first half of 2024, lasting approximately 220 days and valued at around $33 million, excluding mobilization and demobilization fees. Additionally, the deal includes four one-well options.

Noble Corporation's SVP of Marketing, Blake Denton, expressed satisfaction with the collaboration, stating, "We are looking forward to deepening our relationship with TotalEnergies in a South American basin."

The Noble Regina Allen rig had been out of operation since December 2022 due to leg and jacking system repairs. It is currently undergoing repair work in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a targeted return to operations by mid-2024. The rig is designed to work in water depths of up to 400 ft and can accommodate 150 personnel.