Noble Corporation

Good morning. My name is Chantal, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Noble Corporation first quarter 2022 results conference call. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star 1 again. Thank you. Craig Muirhead, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer, you may begin your conference.

Thank you, Chantel, and welcome everyone to Noble Corporation's first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. We appreciate your continued interest in the company. You can find a copy of Noble's earnings report issued yesterday evening along with the supporting statements and schedules on our website at noblecorp.com. Joining me today are Robert Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Richard Barker, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Also joining are Blake Denton, Vice President Marketing and Contracts, and Joey Kawaja, Vice President of Operations. For today's call, we will begin with prepared remarks, followed by a question and answer session. During the course of this call, we may make certain forward-looking statements regarding various matters related to our business and companies that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions of management and are therefore subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements, and Noble does not assume any obligation to update these statements. Please refer to our SEC filings for more information regarding our forward-looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties that could impact our future results, including risks and uncertainties associated with our previously announced business combination with Merce Grilling. Investors should carefully read our previous and ongoing disclosure with respect to such business combination, including in our press release issued yesterday and in our other filings with the SEC. Also note, we are referencing non-GAAP financial measures in the call today. You will find the required supplemental disclosure for these measures, including the most recently comparable GAAP measure and an associated reconciliation in our earnings report issued yesterday and filed with the SEC. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Robert Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble.

Thanks, Craig, and welcome to everyone joining us on the call today. I'll start with a commentary on underlying improvements to our business outlook and follow with highlights on our global operations in the rig market before turning the call over to Richard to review our financial results for the quarter. Following dramatic improvement in our business through 2021, we can conclude the first quarter of 2022 with continued momentum supported by a strong oil price environment and an increasing focus on energy security globally. At Noble, our contracted utilization stands at 100% in our marketed fleet with contract visibility on our four seventh generation drill ships in Guyana to late 2025. In the jacked up segment, activity has accelerated to accompany the continuing improvement in the ultra deep water space. Forecasted demand remains strong across market segments for the foreseeable future. With that backdrop, let me now provide some highlights on our global operations in the rig market. In the Gulf of Mexico, UDW day rate appreciation continued, with some rates closing in on $400,000 per day and steadily increasing average fixture duration year over year. Near-term rig availability in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remains limited, with only four rigs in the region rolling off contract in 2022. In the first quarter, our customer, Quarter North Energy, exercised priced options for the Noble Faye Kozak at $290,000 per day. Additionally, Noble was awarded two contracts for the Noble Globetrotter 1 for work in Mexico at $275,000 and $325,000 per day following the demobilization from the long-term Shell contract. These two contracts, alongside other sixth-generation fixtures over $300,000 per day elsewhere in the industry, are a particularly strong market signal. The pace of improvement in U.S. Gulf of Mexico has been rapid, and we expect stable UDW demand growth in the coming years. Moving to South America, the Petrobras long-term strategy of growing production and increasing capex deployment continued through Q1, as they awarded four new contracts for a total of approximately seven rig years. And just this past Thursday, Petrobras launched additional tenders for up to eight rigs, starting as early as Q4 this year. The South America region is beginning to exhibit the same limited rig availability currently seen in the Gulf of Mexico, and we expect increasing contract opportunities and improving rates through the remainder of 2022. In the Guyana-Cernan Basin, Our market-leading position continues to grow. The Noble Jerry D'Souza arrived in Suriname following the recent installation of an MPD system and a second BOP. The upgraded rig has begun its program for APA Corp., and we are working intensely to achieve their project goals. We are also pleased to report the Yellowtail project was approved in Guyana on April 1st, satisfying all conditions of the previously announced 7.4 years of additional work under the commercial enabling agreement with ExxonMobil. That work is reflected in our revenue backlog as of April 1st. Lastly, the noble Regina Allen secured additional work in Trinidad and Tobago this quarter at a rate of $102,000 per day. Tender activity in West Africa has increased with 10 tenders and two pre-tenders outstanding for drill ship requirements. ENI is the latest operator to come to the market with requirements for up to two drill ships in Angola commencing in the second quarter 2023. In addition to that tender, we currently see incremental demand with multiple operators in Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Nigeria. The awards announced this quarter include some significant updates for Nobles North Sea Jackups. The Noble Sam Hartley received a one-well commitment from Total Energies with a contract value of approximately $18 million plus two one-well options. Our other ready-stack jackup in the region, the Noble Houston Colbert, also secured long-term work during the quarter. The rig will mobilize for Qatar gas and join sister rig, the Noble Mick O'Brien, for three and a half years of primary term each. In a broader context, the North Sea jackup demand remains stable with increased activity on the horizon. In Norway, based on the latest schedule, the Noble Lloyd Noble will continue to support Equinor into the second quarter of 2023, with priced or indexed options carrying the work into 2024. Noble remains confident in the commercial opportunities to create long-term value in Norway as Europe transitions to a secure and sustainable energy supply and Norway responds to the compelling tax incentives to produce. Increased jack-up requirements in the Middle East had a meaningfully positive impact on both global supply demand and rates as contractors in the region fought to secure rigs to compete for new contract requirements. Overall, firm demand in the Middle East has remained positive throughout the quarter, accounting for 55% of the 78 rig years of term awarded globally so far this year. To sum it up, we are in an exciting phase for the industry, but in particular for Noble. We have worked hard to position the company to take full advantage of this upturn, and I'm pleased to see the market develop in this way. I'll now turn the call over to Richard to provide an overview of our financial results and guidance, before taking back over to address our merger with Maersk and conclusions.