noble history flip.indd

Towering
Above
A brief history of a Great Company
A Noble Enterprise
A Noble Enterprise
1896
Humble Beginnings
Lloyd Noble was born in 1896 in Ardmore,
Chickasaw Nation, the child of a pioneer
merchant family.
A Noble Enterprise
1921
The First Rig
When oil was struck on the family farm, Lloyd saw
the potential for a new business. He purchased a
drilling rig partnership with Art Olson.
A Noble Enterprise
1920s
Seminole Field
With the discovery of the Seminole field in 1926,
the largest in Oklahoma reaching nearly 527,000
barrels a day, the Company’s growth soared.
A Noble Enterprise
1930s
The Start of Something New
After acquiring 38 rigs, Noble and Olson decided
to go their separate ways in 1930. Noble said he
wanted his choice of the people and Olson could
have his choice of the equipment. The company
has always valued its people above anything else.
A Noble Enterprise
1932
In 1932 Lloyd Noble diversified into oil production
to complement the drilling side of the business
and to operate the producing properties he had
acquired during his first decade of operations.
The producing Company was named Samedan
Oil Corporation in tribute to his three children,
Sam, Ed and Ann. Today we know that Company
as Noble Energy.
A Noble Enterprise
1940s
A Helping Hand
Noble was called to help the war effort by drilling
in England’s Sherwood Forest to increase their
domestic production.
A Noble Enterprise
1945
Upon his death in 1950, Lloyd Noble’s interests in
Noble Drilling and Samedan were transferred to
the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, a charitable
foundation Lloyd Noble had formed in 1945. The two
companies operated as wholly owned subsidiaries of
the Noble Foundation.
Changes in the tax code passed by the U.S. Congress in
the late 1960s led the Foundation to divest themselves
of the two businesses. Today, Noble Energy and Noble
Corporation are separate publically traded companies.
A Noble Enterprise
1940s
Cape Hatteras Island, NC
Back on U.S. soil, Noble drilled the first well
off the Atlantic coast in Cape Hatteras Island,
North Carolina.
A Noble Enterprise
1950s
Bay Marchland, LA
In the early 1950s, Noble Drilling became the first
company to drill offshore using electrical power
from shore in Bay Marchland off Louisiana.
A Noble Enterprise
1980s
In 1981 Noble embarked on its first newbuild
campaign, constructing the Noble Ed Holt and
the Noble Sam Noble - two rigs that continue to
serve with distinction today.
A Noble Enterprise
1990s
During the late 1990s, Noble’s EVA upgrade
program transformed 5 rigs that were limited
to working in up to 70’ of water of less, to units
capable of operating in water depths of 6,000’
and greater.
A Noble Enterprise
2000s
Newbuild Expansion
Noble invested in growing its fleet by seven units,
including three high specification jackups and four
ultra deepwater semisubmersibles.
A Noble Enterprise
Today
Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for
the oil and gas industry. Noble performs, through its
subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of
offshore drilling units located worldwide, including in
the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea,
the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India
and the Asian Pacific. Noble’s shares are traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NE.”
Worldwide Fleet Distribution