Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 12, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	NE
Entity Registrant Name	Noble Corp plc
Entity Central Index Key	0001458891
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		243,202,568
Entity Public Float			$ 3.7
Noble Corp [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Noble Corporation
Entity Central Index Key	0001169055
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		261,245,693