Noble Names Operations Chief Joey Kawaja Its Chief Operating Officer
The offshore driller promoted its Senior Vice President of Operations to executive vice president, effective November 1.
Noble, the offshore drilling contractor, promoted Joey M. Kawaja from Senior Vice President of Operations to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, according to an 8-K filed Wednesday. The move was made on Thursday, October 29, and takes effect November 1.
A promotion from inside operations
Kawaja had been Senior Vice President of Operations since October 2022, the filing says. He now takes the chief operating officer title at Noble Corporation plc, the company's legal name.
The filing was dated November 4 and signed by Jennie Howard, Noble's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
The filing describes only the promotion and its effective date.
The business he will help run
Noble provides contract drilling services to oil and gas companies, using mobile offshore rigs it owns and operates. Its customers are mainly large integrated, independent and government-owned or controlled producers, and it typically earns a fixed dayrate for each day a rig works under contract.
As of December 31, 2025, according to the company's annual report, the fleet had 36 rigs: 25 floaters and 11 jackups. They worked in Africa, Far East Asia, the North Sea, Oceania, South America and the US Gulf.
Noble reports a single segment, Contract Drilling Services. Exxon Mobil accounted for 19.7% of 2025 revenue.
A workforce mostly at sea
At the end of 2025 Noble had about 4,500 employees, roughly 77% of them working offshore. Operations is the function that keeps that fleet and crew working under contract, and it is the function Kawaja has led since October 2022.
Kawaja's new title takes effect Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Noble Corp plc (NE) — SEC EDGAR
- Noble Group loses two top energy executives, sources say — The Edge Malaysia
