Rig major Noble Corporation has boosted its contract backlog by US $2 billion during the second quarter of this year – compared to three months earlier – to approximately $16 billion as of 30 June, thanks largely to awards for two of its ultra-deepwater newbuild drillships.

The company said the increase was primarily due to contract awards for the Noble Tom Madden and Noble Sam Croft drillships. With the addition of these awards, all of Noble’s ultra-deep drillships under construction now have contracts.

The company also reported a rise in second quarter 2013 earnings of $177 million, compared to $150 million in the first quarter. Total revenues for Q2 2013 were $1.02 billion, compared to $971 million in Q1.

David W. Williams, Chairman, President and CEO, said: “A continuation of excellent business fundamentals produced a better than 5% improvement in average dayrates as a number of our rigs transitioned to new contracts and previously idle rigs returned to work. In addition, we experienced another quarter of declining unpaid operational downtime, contributing to lower than expected repair and maintenance expenses and increased bonus revenue in the quarter.”

Contract drilling services revenues for Q2 2013 were $975 million, compared to $929 million in the prior quarter. The improvement was driven primarily by higher utilisation on the semisubmersibles Noble Paul Wolff, which experienced downtime in the first quarter stemming from a wellhead connector bolt failure, and the Noble Max Smith, which completed a full quarter of operations following the commencement of a three-year contract midway through the first quarter, said the company.

The revenue improvement was partially offset by idle time on the semisub Noble Homer Ferrington and planned out-of service periods on units including the semisub Noble Ton van Langeveld to complete regulatory inspections and required maintenance.

Capital expenditures in the second quarter were $872 million, including $614 million related to the company’s newbuild construction program. During the quarter it took delivery of the drillships Noble Don Taylor and Noble Globetrotter II.

For the six months ended 30 June, 2013 capital expenditures totalled $1.2 billion, of which $752 million related to the newbuild program. The company estimates approximately $2.7 billion in Capex will be required to complete the remaining 10 newbuilds currently under construction.

During the second quarter, utilisation of Noble’s floating rig fleet (semisubs and drillships) was 77%, compared to 83% in the first quarter. The decline was due primarily to the idle days on the Noble Homer Ferrington. The rig, currently completing inspections and required maintenance in an eastern Mediterranean shipyard, is being considered for drilling assignments in several regions, said Noble, but is not expected to return to work before the end of the third quarter of this year.