Noble Energy

Noble Energy, Inc.

Company type	Public (formerly)
Industry	Hydrocarbon exploration
Predecessor	Samedan Oil Corporation
Founded	1932
Founder	Lloyd Noble
Defunct	October 2020
Fate	Acquired by Chevron Corporation
Headquarters	Houston, Texas , United States
Area served	United States, Israel, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Cyprus
Key people	Charles Davidson (President and CEO from 2000)
Products	Natural gas, natural gas liquids, petroleum, methanol, electricity
Parent	Chevron Corporation (from October 2020)

Noble Energy, Inc. operated as a hydrocarbon exploration firm based in Houston, Texas. In October 2020, it was purchased by Chevron Corporation.

Originally named Noble Affiliates, Inc. until 2002, the firm reported proved reserves as of December 31, 2018, distributed with 52% located in the United States, 43% in Israel, and 5% in Equatorial Guinea. These reserves consisted of 62% natural gas, 14% natural gas liquids, and 24% petroleum.

Within the United States, Noble Energy's principal holdings included the Wattenberg Gas Field / Denver Basin in Colorado, the Delaware Basin, and the Eagle Ford Group.

In offshore Israel, the company controlled approximately 74,000 net developed acres and 111,000 net undeveloped acres across water depths ranging from 700 to 6,500 feet. Noble held a 39.66% stake in the Leviathan gas field, discovered in 2010, along with a 25% interest in the Tamar gas field. Through Dolphinus Holdings Limited, it supplied surplus gas to Egypt after meeting commitments to Israel and Jordan. Additionally, Noble possessed a minority share in East Mediterranean Gas Company's Arab Gas Pipeline, facilitating gas transport from Israel to Egypt. Gas exports to Jordan were supported by existing and planned pipeline infrastructure between Israel and Jordan. Adjacent to its Israeli holdings, Noble owned a license covering about 33,000 net undeveloped acres within Cyprus’s Aphrodite gas field.

The corporation also retained interests in offshore oil fields located in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Gabon.

History

The origins of Noble Energy trace back to 1932 when Lloyd Noble established the Samedan Oil Corporation, named after his children Sam, Ed, and Ann. In 1968, Samedan secured its inaugural offshore block in the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1970s, Noble Affiliates Inc. was formed as a holding entity for Samedan and Noble Drilling Corporation. Noble Affiliates went public on NASDAQ through an initial public offering in 1972.

In 1980, Noble Affiliates achieved listing on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol NBL. The firm spun off Noble Drilling Corporation in 1985 and acquired Energy Development Corporation in 1986. In June 2000, Noble relocated its headquarters from Ardmore, Oklahoma to Houston, Texas. Charles Davidson was appointed president and CEO in October of that year.

By April 2002, the company diversified into producing methanol and electricity, rebranding itself as Noble Energy, Inc. In May 2005, it expanded its Rocky Mountains footprint by acquiring Patina Oil & Gas. The following year saw the divestiture of Gulf of Mexico assets for $625 million alongside announcing a notable discovery there.

In January 2010, Noble enhanced its DJ Basin presence with a $494 million purchase from PetroCanada and Suncor Energy. By May, its Deep Blue exploration well reached depths exceeding 32,000 feet in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. December marked the announcement of the offshore discovery of Israel’s Leviathan gas field.

February 2011 brought Noble the first deepwater drilling permit issued post-Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2012, it moved its Houston headquarters into a former Hewlett Packard facility offering nearly 500,000 square feet of office area. Later that year, Mid-Continent assets were sold for $594 million.

In October 2014, Noble invested NIS 12 million to create an energy technician training center at Israel’s Ruppin Academic Center. July 2015 saw acquisition of Rosetta Resources through a stock deal, adding acreage within the Eagle Ford Group. However, drilling a dry hole offshore Cameroon in September led to a $33 million write-off.

April 2017 featured the $2.7 billion purchase of Clayton Williams Energy. Shortly thereafter, Marcellus Midstream was sold to Quantum Energy Partners for $765 million while Marcellus Shale assets were divested for $1.12 billion. In January 2018, Noble sold part of its Tamar gas field interest for $800 million and exited Gulf of Mexico holdings by April.

December 2018 involved acquiring assets in both the Eagle Ford Group and Bakken Formation. On December 30, 2019, Noble transitioned its stock listing from NYSE to Nasdaq Global Select Market. Ultimately, October 2020 marked Noble Energy’s acquisition by Chevron Corporation, representing a major consolidation within the sector.

Controversies

In 2015, the firm encountered legal disputes initiated by the Argentine government concerning its activities in the Falkland Islands, a region claimed by Argentina. During the same year, it reached a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency regarding emissions from its tank batteries, resulting in a $4.95 million civil fine—$3.475 million payable to the United States and $1.475 million to the state of Colorado.