Organization and Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization and Basis of Presentation	Note 1— Organization and Basis of Presentation Noble Corporation plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales (“Noble-UK”), is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. We perform contract drilling services with our global fleet of mobile offshore drilling units. As of September 30, 2017, our fleet consisted of 14 jackups, eight drillships and six semisubmersibles. We report our contract drilling operations as a single reportable segment, Contract Drilling Services, which reflects how we manage our business. The mobile offshore drilling units comprising our offshore rig fleet operate in a global market for contract drilling services and are often redeployed to different regions due to changing demands of our customers, which consist primarily of large, integrated, independent and government-owned or controlled oil and gas companies throughout the world. Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company (“Noble-Cayman”), is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-UK, our publicly-traded parent company. Noble-UK’s principal asset is all of the shares of Noble-Cayman. Noble-Cayman has no public equity outstanding. The condensed consolidated financial statements of Noble-UK include the accounts of Noble-Cayman, and Noble-UK conducts substantially all of its business through Noble-Cayman and its subsidiaries. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Noble-UK and Noble-Cayman have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as they pertain to Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position and results of operations for the interim periods, on a basis consistent with the annual audited condensed consolidated financial statements. All such adjustments are of a recurring nature. The December 31, 2016 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets presented herein are derived from the December 31, 2016 audited consolidated financial statements, and as a result, they do not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed by both Noble-UK and Noble-Cayman. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In accordance with our adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-9, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, prior period excess tax benefits of approximately $5.5 million, previously classified as a financing activity in “Employee stock transactions” in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, are now classified as an operating activity in “Net change in other assets and liabilities” on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the comparative period. Prior period shares withheld for taxes on employee stock transactions of approximately $3.2 million, previously classified as an operating activity in “Net change in other assets and liabilities” in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, are now classified as a financing activity in “Employee stock transactions” on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the comparative period. See Note 13— Accounting Pronouncements for additional information. We have made certain reclassifications to our prior period amounts in our operating revenue by combining our other revenue with reimbursables revenue to conform to the current period presentation. Such reclassification did not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Note 1— Organization and Basis of Presentation

Noble Corporation plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales (“Noble-UK”), is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. We perform contract drilling services with our global fleet of mobile offshore drilling units. As of September 30, 2017, our fleet consisted of 14 jackups, eight drillships and six semisubmersibles.

We report our contract drilling operations as a single reportable segment, Contract Drilling Services, which reflects how we manage our business. The mobile offshore drilling units comprising our offshore rig fleet operate in a global market for contract drilling services and are often redeployed to different regions due to changing demands of our customers, which consist primarily of large, integrated, independent and government-owned or controlled oil and gas companies throughout the world.

Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company (“Noble-Cayman”), is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble-UK, our publicly-traded parent company. Noble-UK’s principal asset is all of the shares of Noble-Cayman. Noble-Cayman has no public equity outstanding. The condensed consolidated financial statements of Noble-UK include the accounts of Noble-Cayman, and Noble-UK conducts substantially all of its business through Noble-Cayman and its subsidiaries.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Noble-UK and Noble-Cayman have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as they pertain to Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position and results of operations for the interim periods, on a basis consistent with the annual audited condensed consolidated financial statements. All such adjustments are of a recurring nature. The December 31, 2016 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets presented herein are derived from the December 31, 2016 audited consolidated financial statements, and as a result, they do not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed by both Noble-UK and Noble-Cayman. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In accordance with our adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-9, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, prior period excess tax benefits of approximately $5.5 million, previously classified as a financing activity in “Employee stock transactions” in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, are now classified as an operating activity in “Net change in other assets and liabilities” on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the comparative period. Prior period shares withheld for taxes on employee stock transactions of approximately $3.2 million, previously classified as an operating activity in “Net change in other assets and liabilities” in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, are now classified as a financing activity in “Employee stock transactions” on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the comparative period. See Note 13— Accounting Pronouncements for additional information.

We have made certain reclassifications to our prior period amounts in our operating revenue by combining our other revenue with reimbursables revenue to conform to the current period presentation. Such reclassification did not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position, results of operations or cash flows.