The Discoverer is undergoing repairs in South Korea after Shell postponed its 2013 drilling plans for offshore Alaska after a problematic foray there last year.
But Roger Hunt, Noble’s senior vice-president for marketing and contracts, said recent moves to push ahead with drilling in the Russian Arctic by Exxon Mobil Corp and Rosneft underlined the potential of the overall region. Hunt did not see the decision last week by ConocoPhillips to defer its drilling off the coast of Alaska as indicative of the industry losing interest.
“I wouldn’t read that as a fundamental shift away from the Arctic,” Hunt said on a conference call.
Yet efforts to drill off Alaska are now under intense scrutiny. A total of four government investigations were launched into Shell’s 2012 drilling season off Alaska, which culminated in the grounding of its Kulluk drillship in a storm as it headed down to Seattle for the winter.
Noble also said on Thursday it had secured contracts for the final two of its ultra-deepwater drillships under construction, adding $1.3 billion to its backlog.
The two rigs, both expected to be delivered next year, will work in the Gulf of Mexico for Plains Exploration & Production Co – which is being bought by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Plains had previously bought $5.5 billion worth of Gulf of Mexico assets from BP Plc last year.
Prior to the Plains contracts, Noble reported on Wednesday an end-March backlog of $14 billion, down from $14.3 billion three months before, along with higher-than-expected first-quarter profits.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, Noble expected a rise in contract drilling costs to between $515 million and $530 million, up from $484 million in the first quarter. The costs would rise between $15 million and $20 million per quarter after that, the company added.
But the effective tax rate for 2013 was now expected to be between 18 per cent to 20 per cent, down from the range of 20 per cent to 21 per cent given three months ago.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
