SEC Form 4
FORM 4 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person*
JOHNSON ARNOLD J
(Last) (First) (Middle)
100 GLENBOROUGH DRIVE, SUITE 100
(Street)
HOUSTON TX 77067
(City) (State) (Zip)
2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
NOBLE ENERGY INC [ NBL ] 		5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
Director 10% Owner
X Officer (give title below) Other (specify below)
Sr. VP Gen. Counsel & Sec.
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/01/2012
4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)
 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
X Form filed by One Reporting Person
Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock 2,670(1) I 401(k)
Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock 02/01/2012 A 6,138(2) A $101.82 43,017 D
Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock 02/01/2012 F 576(4) D $101.25 42,441 D
Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock 02/01/2012 F 351(5) D $101.25 42,090 D
Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year) 7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4) 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) 9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) 10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option Grant (right to buy) $101.82 02/01/2012 A 15,711(3) 02/01/2013 02/01/2022 Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock 0 $0 15,711 D
Explanation of Responses:
1. Holdings under the Company's 401(k) Plan are reported in units by the plan administrator. The units represent shares of Company common stock. The number of shares represented by the units is based upon the plan statement as of February 1, 2012 and calculated by dividing the aggregate unit balance under the 401(k) by the closing price of the Company's common stock on that date.
2. Restricted shares of Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock subject to vesting 20% after year one, an additional 30% after year two and the final 50% after year three, granted under the 1992 Stock Option and Restricted Stock Plan.
3. Options vest 1/3 each year for three years.
4. This reported transaction reflects shares relinquished to Noble Energy, Inc. by the reporting person out of, and to cover estimated tax witholding for, restricted shares granted on February 1, 2010, and vesting on February 1, 2012. The stock price reflected in Table I Column 4 was determined based on "fair market value," defined in the Noble Energy, Inc. 1992 Stock Option and Restricted Stock Plan for this transaction as the average of the reported high and low trading price of Noble Energy, Inc. common stock on the NYSE on February 1, 2012.
5. This reported transaction reflects shares relinquished to Noble Energy, Inc. by the reporting person out of, and to cover estimated tax witholding for, restricted shares granted on February 1, 2011, and vesting on February 1, 2012. The stock price reflected in Table I Column 4 was determined based on "fair market value," defined in the Noble Energy, Inc. 1992 Stock Option and Restricted Stock Plan for this transaction as the average of the reported high and low trading price of Noble Energy, Inc. common stock on the NYSE on February 1, 2012.
Remarks:
Column 5 of Table I includes 15,074 restricted shares of Noble Energy, Inc. Common Stock directly held by the reporting person.
Arnold J. Johnson 02/03/2012
** Signature of Reporting Person Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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