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NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil
Noble, Maersk Drilling complete merger
GLOBAL US-BASED Noble Corp. said on October 3 that it Noble noted that the combined company was
had completed its merger with Denmark-based supported by a contract backlog of over $4bn and
Maersk Drilling, creating a new leading global a “conservative” balance sheet with low leverage
offshore drilling contractor. and significant liquidity. It anticipates achieving
The transaction, estimated to be worth cost synergies of at least $125mn per year, which
$2.5bn, was first announced in November 2021 are expected to be realised within two years after
and was closed via the completion of Noble’s closing. It also expects its cost-competitiveness
recommended voluntary public share exchange to be enhanced via the additional scale it gains
offer to Maersk’s shareholders. through the transaction.
“The fundamental industrial logic of the The combined company’s fleet is among
combination is clear and has only grown the youngest and highest specification fleets in
stronger over the past year, driven by steady the industry, according to the announcement.
improvements in the offshore drilling market Separately, Noble said on October 5 that it had
and a deeper appreciation of the immense talent completed the sale of five jack-up rigs to a sub-
across this newly combined team,” stated Noble’s sidiary of Shelf Drilling for $375mn as part of its
president and CEO, Robert Eifler. merger with Maersk. The closing of that sale was
“Today’s combination of Noble and Maersk described as “an essential element to the trans-
Drilling represents a defining moment in the formative business combination with Maersk
history of offshore drilling,” added Noble’s chair- Drilling”.
man of the board of directors, Chuck Sledge. “I Not including the rigs that were sold, the
am confident that Noble is now better positioned combined company now owns and operates
to deliver enhanced value to all our customers 15 drillships, four semi-submersibles and 13
and shareholders.” jack-ups.
ENERGY TRANSITION
Suncor to offload wind, solar assets
in shift in energy transition focus
CANADA LEADING oil sands producer Suncor Energy scale deployment of carbon capture technology.”
said on October 5 that it had agreed to sell its The sale, which includes interests in the
wind and solar assets to ATCO-owned Canadian Magrath, Chin Chute and Adelaide wind farms,
Utilities for CAD730mn ($527mn). the Forty Mile wind farm and other renewable
In a statement, the company said it would assets that are still at the development stage, is
shift its focus to areas that were more comple- due to close in the first quarter of 2023.
mentary to its core business, such as hydro- Suncor’s efforts to sharpen its focus on its core
gen and renewable fuels, in line with previous assets also extend to the sale of its Norwegian oil
announcements. This comes as the oil sands pro- and gas business, which closed on September
ducer works towards a goal of net-zero green- 30. That deal included interests in the Fenja and
house gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Oda fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
“Divesting of these wind and solar assets (NCS), as well as eight additional licences.
further streamlines our portfolio so that we can The sale of Suncor’s wind and solar assets
concentrate our efforts on our core business,” comes as other prominent Canadian companies
stated Suncor’s interim president and CEO, expand their renewable footprints. For example,
Kris Smith. “Our ESG efforts will continue to pipeline operator TC Energy said a day earlier
advance in other areas that are complementary that it would begin pre-construction work for
to our core business such as replacing coke- the Saddlebrook solar project in Alberta. The
fired boilers at Base Plant with lower-emission company is investing CAD146mn ($105mn) to
cogeneration units, investing in hydrogen and build Saddlebrook, which is its first Canadian
low-carbon fuels and accelerating commercial solar project.
Week 40 06•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
