Fitch Affirms Noble Corp.'s IDR at 'A-'; Outlook Stable

CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Fitch has affirmed the Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior
unsecured rating for Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE) (Noble) at 'A-' following
the announcement that the company will issue a $202 million special
dividend. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The announcement that Noble will pay a $0.75 per share special
dividend is consistent with past management statements that the
company will look for ways to return cash to shareholders and minimize
cash balances at the company. Fitch does not anticipate the dividend
payment to result in additional borrowings. During 2008, Fitch
anticipates Noble to be free cash flow positive as the company
benefits from a full year of operations from both the Noble Clyde
Boudreaux and the Noble Roger Lewis, the planned deliveries of two
additional newbuilds during the second half of 2008 as well as
additional contract re-pricings within the rest of the fleet.

The rating affirmation reflects Noble's robust credit profile,
high-quality, diverse fleet of offshore drilling rigs, the company's
history of maintaining a strong balance sheet throughout industry
cycles and the current contract backlog which is estimated at $11
billion. During 2007, Noble generated EBITDA of $1.78 billion (a 52%
increase over 2006) and ended the year with balance sheet debt at
$784.5 million. Credit metrics were robust with interest coverage
estimated at 28 times (x) and debt-to-EBITDA of 0.4x. Free cash flow
(cash from operations less capital expenditures less dividends) was
positive $140.4 million despite sizable capital expenditures
associated with the company's newbuild activities. Noble's revenue
backlog of approximately $11 billion is expected to significantly
limit downside risk to the company despite having three submersible
and 14 jackup rigs with contract expirations in 2008.

Risks to the company's credit profile stem primarily from
increased cost pressures resulting in weaker than expected cash flows,
the potential for downward pressure on dayrates for jackup rigs
resulting from the arrival of a large number of speculative newbuild
rigs in 2008 and 2009, and Noble's sizable capital expenditure
program. It is important to note Noble has moved forward with newbuild
projects only after securing a firm contract for a rig. Additional
risks to the credit profile result from the potential for additional
debt to fund acquisitions, asset purchases or shareholder friendly
activities (share repurchases or special dividends). Noble's Board of
Directors has authorized share repurchases for which 26.3 million
shares ($1.32 billion) remain available for repurchase; however, Fitch
would expect management to fund repurchases (or special dividends) out
of excess cash flows and therefore not result in additional balance
sheet debt.

The Stable Rating Outlook is based on Fitch's expectation for
management to continue to maintain a conservative balance sheet while
returning cash to shareholders out of excess cash flows.

Noble is a leading provider of diversified services for the oil
and gas industry. Contract drilling services are performed with the
company's fleet of 62 mobile offshore drilling units located in key
markets worldwide. This fleet consists of 13 semisubmersibles, three
dynamically positioned drillships, 43 jackups and three submersibles.
The fleet includes two newbuild F&G JU-2000E enhanced premium jackups
with scheduled delivery of one rig in 2008 and one in 2009. In
addition, Noble expects to deliver the newbuild semisubmersible the
Noble Dave Beard in the fourth quarter of 2008, deliver the Noble
Danny Adkins (formerly the Bingo 3 Hull) in the first half of 2009 and
deliver the Noble Jim Day (formerly the Bingo 4 Hull) in late 2009.
Approximately 85% of the fleet is currently deployed in international
markets, including the Middle East, Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil,
western Africa, and India.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings
are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com.
Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this
site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality,
conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other
relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of
Conduct' section of this site.

Fitch Ratings, Chicago
Adam M. Miller, 312-368-3113
Mark Sadeghian, 312-368-2090
or
Media Relations:
Brian Bertsch, 212-908-0549, New York

Copyright Business Wire 2008