As of December 31, 2018, the company owned approximately 74,000 net developed acres and 111,000 net undeveloped acres between 10 and 90 miles offshore Israel in water depths ranging from 700 feet to 6,500 feet. Noble holds a 39.66% working interest in the Leviathan gas field, which it discovered in 2010 and a 25% working interest in the Tamar gas field. Through Dolphinus Holdings Limited, Noble sells any excess gas to Egypt after its natural gas obligations to Israel and Jordan have been met. The company owns a minority interest in and uses East Mediterranean Gas Company's Arab Gas Pipeline to transport the gas from Israel to Egypt. Exports to Jordan are facilitated by an existing low-capacity pipeline near the Dead Sea and a large capacity pipeline under construction in northern Israel and northern Jordan. Adjacent to the Israel acreage, the company owns a license covering approximately 33,000 net undeveloped acres in the Aphrodite gas field of Cyprus.[2]
In 1932, Lloyd Noble founded the Samedan Oil Corporation, predecessor company to Noble Energy, Inc. The company was named after his children Sam, Ed, and Ann.[3] In 1968, Samedan acquired its first offshore block in the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1970s, Noble Affiliates Inc. was set up as a holding company to own Samedan Oil Corporation and a drilling company, Noble Drilling Corporation.[3] In 1972, Noble Affiliates became a public company via an initial public offering, listing on the then-new National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ).[3][4][5]
In 1980, Noble Affiliates was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol NBL. In 1985, Noble Affiliates spun off its subsidiary, Noble Drilling Corporation. In 1986, the company acquired Energy Development Corporation.
In 2012, the company moved its headquarters to a building formerly occupied by Hewlett Packard in northwest Houston, Texas and signed a lease for 497,000 square feet of office space.[16]
In October 2014, the company announced plans to establish a center to train technicians in the energy industry at Ruppin Academic Center in Israel with a donation of NIS 12 million.[18][19]
In July 2015, the company acquired Rosetta Resources in a stock transaction. The acquisition gave the company acreage in the Eagle Ford Group.[20]
In September 2015, the company announced that the drilling of a well in the Cheetah exploration prospect offshore Cameroon yielded a dry hole. The company recorded a $33 million charge for this unsuccessful venture.[21]
In April 2017, the company acquired Clayton Williams Energy for $2.7 billion.[22][23]
In 2015, the government of Argentina accused the company of operating illegally in the Falkland Islands. The government of Argentina does not recognize British control of the Falkland Islands.[31]
In 2015, the company settled a claim by the Environmental Protection Agency that its tank batteries were emitting noxious gases. The settlement included the payment of a $4.95 million civil penalty divided as follows: $3.475 million to the United States; and $1.475 million to Colorado.[32]