SUGAR LAND, Texas, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) announced that a survey of the Company's fleet of eight drilling units currently operating in waters off Mexico revealed essentially no damage as a result of Hurricane Dean.

Noble, along with its customer PEMEX, safely evacuated approximately 685 Company workers, contractors and third-party personnel from its rigs in Mexico's Bay of Campeche prior to the storm's arrival. Repopulation of the rigs was completed on Sunday, August 26. Two of the Company's jackups normally working offshore Mexico were in U.S. shipyards undergoing upgrades and maintenance at the time of the storm. These rigs are scheduled to return to service in September and October.

Noble completed repopulating five rigs operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, August 25.

"Our first priority in any major storm is to safely evacuate our personnel and secure our rigs to protect the environment," said Noble Chief Operating Officer David W. Williams. "Now, our focus is on resuming normal operations."

Noble Corporation is a leading provider of diversified services for the oil and gas industry. The Company performs contract drilling services with its fleet of 62 mobile offshore drilling units located in key markets worldwide, including the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa and India. The fleet count includes six rigs under construction.

Additional information on Noble Corporation is available via the worldwide web at http://www.noblecorp.com.

SOURCE Noble Corporation

/CONTACT: Investors, Lee M. Ahlstrom, Vice President - Investor Relations and Planning, +1-281-276-6440, or Media, John S. Breed, Director of Corporate Communications, +1-281-276-6729, both of Noble Drilling Services Inc./

/Web site: http://www.noblecorp.com /