Noble Corporation plc 10 Brook Street London W1S 1BG www.noblecorp.com Noble Corporation plc 2018 Annual Report Corporation Noble Noble Corporation plc 2018 Annual Report Noble Corporation plc Financial Highlights Investor Information Board of Directors Year Ended December 31, Shareholders, brokers, securities analysts or portfolio managers Julie H. Edwards 2, 3, 4 2018 (1) 2017 (1) 2016 (1) 2015 (1) 2014 (1) seeking information about Noble Corporation plc should Former Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Ocer Operating Revenues 1,082,826 1,236,915 $2,302,065 $3,352,252 $3,232,504 contact Je Chastain, Vice President – Investor Relations, Noble Southern Union Company From Continuing Operations Drilling Services Inc., by phone at -- or by e-mail at Director since . [email protected]. Gordon T. Hall 2, 3, 4, 6 Net Income / (Loss) (885,050) (515,025) (929,580) 511,000 (152,011) Forward Looking Statements Chairman of the Board From Continuing Operations Archrock, Inc. Any statements included in this Annual Report that are not Director since . Diluted Income / (Loss) (3.59) (2.10) (3.82) 2.06 (0.60) historical facts, including without limitation regarding future 1, 5 From Continuing Operations Per Share market trends and results of operations are forward-looking Roger W. Jenkins statements within the meaning of the applicable securities law. President and Chief Executive O cer Please see “Forward-Looking Statements” in this Annual Murphy Oil Corporation (2) Cash Flow from Operations 171,851 416,675 1,142,740 1,764,907 1,778,627 Report for more information. Director since . Total Assets (3) 9,264,923 10,794,659 11,440,117 12,865,645 13,266,480 Corporate Information Scott D. Josey 1, 5 Chairman & Chief Executive Ocer (3) (4) Transfer Agent and Registrar Sequitur Energy Resources, LLC Total Debt 3,877,402 4,045,710 4,340,111 4,462,562 4,848,678 Computershare Trust Company, N.A. Director since . Canton, Massachusetts Total Equity 4,654,574 5,950,628 6,467,445 7,422,230 7,287,034 Jon A. Marshall 2, 3, 5 Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Former President & Chief Operating Ocer All numbers in thousands, except per share data PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Transocean Inc. Houston, Texas Director since . (1) Results for 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 include impairment charges of $802 million, $122 million, $1.5 billion, $418 million and $745 million, respectively. Independent Auditors Mary P. Ricciardello 1, 4 (2) Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In accordance with our adoption of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Former Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Ocer Accounting Standard Update No. 2016-9, excess tax benefits are now classified as an operating activity and employee taxes paid for share-based London, UK Reliant Energy, Inc. payment arrangements are now classified as a financing activity on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. (3) Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In accordance with our adoption of Director since . Accounting Standard Update No. 2015-3, unamortized debt issuance costs related to our senior notes are now shown as a direct reduction Shares Listed on of the carrying amount of the related debt. New York Stock Exchange Julie J. Robertson (4) Consists of Long-term debt and Current maturities of long-term debt. Trading Symbol “NE” Chairman, President & Chief Executive Ocer Noble Corporation plc Form -K Director since . A copy of Noble Corporation plc’s Annual Report on Form On the cover: Sunrise o the bow of the Noble Clyde Boudreaux, a recently reactivated -K, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 1 2 semisubmersible operating oshore Myanmar for PTTEP. will be furnished without charge to any shareholder upon written Audit Committee Compensation Committee request to: 3 Finance Committee 4 Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee 5 Health, Safety, Environment and Engineering Committee 6 William E. Turcotte Lead Director The ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Tom Madden General Counsel & Corporate Secretary operating oshore Guyana for ExxonMobil. Noble Corporation plc Brook Street London WS BG Corporate Ocers Annual Meeting Julie J. Robertson The Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Noble Corporation plc Chairman, President & Chief Executive Ocer will be held on April , , at : p.m. local time at The Ritz Hotel in London, England. Adam C. Peakes Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Ocer Contact the Board William E. Turcotte If you would like to contact the Noble Corporation plc Board of Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary Directors, send an e-mail to [email protected] or write to: Scott W. Marks Senior Vice President – Engineering Noble Corporation plc Board of Directors Robert W. Eifler Brook Street Senior Vice President – Marketing & Contracts London WS BG Laura D. Campbell For additional information about Noble Corporation plc, please Vice President and Controller refer to our proxy statement which is being mailed or made available with this Annual Report. To Our Shareholders he oshore drilling industry continues to await robust recovery. However, despite the various hurdles that the industry may face, at Noble, we Tstill saw encouraging signs of improvement. There is little doubt that weakness in crude oil and natural gas prices and the recent interruption in sustainable trading patterns of these commodities have led to our customers demonstrating a disciplined approach to the business, including a commitment to spend within the limits of a restricted amount of annual cash flow and allocation of capital that has frequently subordinated oshore programs. However, recent activities by our customers imply that interest in oshore prospects is once again emerging. The resource potential found in many of the world’s oshore basins has continued to expand, while our customers’ cost per barrel of crude oil equivalent to access this growing potential has seldom been lower. At the same time, our industry is experiencing important and much needed fundamental change, and we believe the lack of recent meaningful investment in oshore production will be a catalyst in an improving market for our services. Together, these important developments should set the stage for a robust business environment, and we certainly experienced encouraging signs of an improving market in 2018. Indications of Growing Oshore Interest Customer interest in emerging oshore basins is rapidly building due, in part, to improving access and successful exploration results. Guyana, Brazil, Suriname and Mexico oer excellent recent examples of basins where exploration and production companies have gained access to expansive oshore acreage while the resource potential of these areas is increasingly supported by encouraging exploration results. In 2018, five of the 18 announced deepwater discoveries worldwide were located in these four basins. Oshore Guyana, where exceptional resource potential is particularly evident, 12 out of 13 exploration probes to date have located hydrocarbons. It is worth noting that Noble is a leading provider of drilling services in this region with two of our ultra- deepwater drillships located there. We expect exploration in these areas, and in others around the world, to experience gradual improvement as operators identify oshore prospects with excellent resource potential that can support future production growth and reserve replacement. Growing interest from operators is not limited to the emerging frontier regions. Activity in mature oshore basins is also expected to expand due to a combination of changes in ownership of producing and undeveloped acreage, exploration success, and the presence of established oshore infrastructure that provides a quick and ecient path to commercialization. The North Sea has been a prime example of activity supported by new owners in mature basins. Finally, exploration and production companies are experiencing increased success in utilizing technological advances that lower the cost of doing business oshore while delivering improved results in exploration and field recovery. Enhanced seismic acquisition and expedited imaging technologies are also creating value for our customers and should lead to increased oshore activity. Improvement in Industry Fundamentals In addition to the mounting evidence of growing oshore interest from operators, 2018 saw a healthy increase in bidding and award activity, including a welcomed improvement in the floating rig category. Jackup demand has continued to improve, particularly for high specification units which has led to improving margins for those assets. Also, the industry’s total rig supply declined further in 2018 as more rigs were retired from service. Among the industry’s floating rig fleet, 18 units were retired in 2018, bringing the total number of floating rig retirements since 2014 to 126 units, with additional retirements likely in the future. Noble has been an active participant in fleet rationalization, having retired approximately one-third of our fleet since late 2014. These rig retirements, combined with the addition of new, high specification assets, have resulted in one of the industry’s youngest, most modern fleets. Noble’s average fleet age is only six years as we begin 2019. Positioning Noble for Industry Recovery We believe the early stages of recovery in the oshore drilling industry have begun. As a result of this outlook, we have taken several actions in 2018 and into 2019 to strengthen our customer base and further improve our ability to compete in what will remain a competitive industry environment. These actions were led by our acquisition of two newbuild jackups. The attractively priced rigs, the Noble Johnny Whitstine and Noble Joe Knight, have both received multi-year contracts for operations in the Middle East. These modern, fit-for-purpose drilling solutions are expected to remain active in the region well into the future. We believe Also, in keeping with our improved industry outlook, a prolonged we completed reactivation programs for five premium period of under- rigs, including four ultra-deepwater floating units and a high-specification jackup.