Not to be confused with Noble Energy, the firm just acquired by Chevron in a $5 billion deal, offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. has filed for bankruptcy after citing $3.4 billion in debt.
The Chapter 11 filing in Texas would eliminate all of the company’s bond borrowings by swapping debt for equity, the company said in a statement. Noteholders agreed to invest $200 million of new capital through second-lien notes, and Noble has lined up a $675 million secured revolving credit facility backed by current lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co according to Bloomberg.
London-based Noble, one of the biggest owners of offshore rigs, failed to cope with a glut of floating drilling capacity that was a decade in the making, as exploration companies shifted focus to cheaper inland shale. The plunge in crude prices made any near-term recovery in offshore drilling even less probable.
Noble reported both assets and liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to the bankruptcy petition. It expects to emerge from Chapter 11 before the end of the year, and will continue operating while in bankruptcy, according to the statement.
Source: Bloomberg
