NBL Noble Energy Inc

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 17, 2015

Registration Statement No. 333-            

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

NOBLE ENERGY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		73-0785597
(State of Incorporation)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)
1001 Noble Energy Way Houston, Texas		77070
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

2015 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc.

(Full title of the plan)

 

Kenneth M. Fisher Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Noble Energy, Inc. 1001 Noble Energy Way Houston, Texas 77070 (281) 872-3100 (Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)		Copies to:   Harry R. Beaudry Mayer Brown LLP 700 Louisiana Street, Suite 3400 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 238-3000

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer		x		Accelerated filer		¨
Non-accelerated filer		¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)		Smaller reporting company		¨

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of securities to be registered		Amount to be registered (1)(2)		Proposed maximum offering price per share (3)		Proposed maximum aggregate offering price (3)		Amount of registration fee
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share		708,996 shares		$ 38.61		$ 27,374,336		$ 3,181

(1)	Registrant is registering 708,996 shares under the 2015 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc. (the “2015 Plan”), pursuant to this Registration Statement.

(2)

Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement shall also include such additional indeterminate number of shares of common stock as may become issuable under the 2015 Plan to prevent dilution as a result of stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations or similar transactions.

(3)	Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) and (h) under the Securities Act on the basis of the average of the high and low prices of the common stock of Registrant reported on the New York Stock Exchange for July 16, 2015.

 

 

 

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

Noble Energy, Inc. (“Noble Energy,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is filing this Registration Statement to register 708,996 shares (the “Shares”) of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, reserved for issuance under the 2015 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc. (the “2015 Plan”). The Shares previously were reserved but unissued under the 2005 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc. (the “2005 Plan”) when it expired on March 31, 2015 and were not subject to outstanding awards under the 2005 Plan as of such date (the “Carried Forward Shares”). The Carried Forward Shares were registered pursuant to Noble Energy’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on May 23, 2007 (the “Prior Registration Statement”). Substantially concurrently with the filing of this Registration Statement on Form S-8, Noble Energy is filing Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Prior Registration Statement to deregister the Carried Forward Shares thereunder. This Registration Statement is being filed pursuant to General Instruction E of Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information required by Part I of Form S-8 to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the 2015 Plan covered by this Registration Statement as required by Rule 428(b)(1).

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.

Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed by Noble Energy with the Commission are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement:

 

•

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014;

 

•

our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2015;

 

•

our Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the Commission on March 3, 2015, March 25, 2015, April 29, 2015, May 11, 2015 (Item 1.01 only) and June 29, 2015; and

 

•

the description of our common stock set forth in our registration statements filed pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All documents filed by Noble Energy with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (excluding any information deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any current report on Form 8-K) subsequent to the filing of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold, or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained in this Registration Statement, in an amendment hereto or in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed amendment to this Registration Statement or in any document that also is incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement.

 

Item 4.

Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.

Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

 

Item 6.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) permits each Delaware business corporation to indemnify its directors, officers, employees and agents against liability for each such person’s acts taken in his or her capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation if such actions were taken in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and with respect to any criminal action, if he or she had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

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Noble Energy’s bylaws provide indemnification of prior and current directors, officers, employees or agents. Noble Energy is to indemnify, to the fullest extent authorized by law, any director or officer of Noble who is made a party or threatened to be made to a party in any criminal, civil, administrative or investigative action or proceeding. Further, Noble Energy may indemnify an employee or agent who is made or threatened to be made a party to a criminal, civil, administrative, or investigative action or proceeding. In addition, Noble Energy, at its own expense, may maintain insurance to protect itself and directors, officers, employees or agents of Noble Energy or another enterprise against all expenses and liabilities, whether or not Noble Energy has the power to indemnify such individuals under the DGCL.

Should a director or officer be successful in any action, suit or proceeding, he or she must be indemnified by Noble Energy against expenses, including attorney’s fees, actually and reasonably incurred by the officer or director. Furthermore, Noble Energy may pay the expenses incurred in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding in advance of its final disposition. However, Noble Energy must first receive an undertaking by the indemnified party to repay all expenses if it is ultimately determined that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified. If the indemnitee is an employee or agent, then the upfront payment of expenses may be done under terms and conditions as Noble Energy deems appropriate.

 

Item 7.

Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

 

Item 8.

Exhibits.

Reference is made to the Exhibit Index on the page immediately following the signature page hereto, which is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 9.

Undertakings.

 

(a)

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Houston, State of Texas, on this 17th day of July, 2015.

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints David L. Stover, Kenneth M. Fisher and Arnold J. Johnson, and each of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents with full power of substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or his, her or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated below on July 17, 2015.

 

Signature		Title
/s/ David L. Stover David L. Stover		Chairman of the Board, Director and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Kenneth M. Fisher Kenneth M. Fisher		Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
/s/ Dustin A. Hatley Dustin A. Hatley		Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller (Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ Jeffrey L. Berenson Jeffrey L. Berenson		Director
/s/ Michael A. Cawley Michael A. Cawley		Director
/s/ Edward F. Cox Edward F. Cox		Director
/s/ Thomas J. Edelman Thomas J. Edelman		Director

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Signature		Title
/s/ Eric P. Grubman Eric P. Grubman		Director
/s/ Kirby L. Hedrick Kirby L. Hedrick		Director
/s/ Scott D. Urban Scott D. Urban		Director
/s/ William T. Van Kleef William T. Van Kleef		Director
/s/ Molly K. Williamson Molly K. Williamson		Director

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit No.		Description
2.1		Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 10, 2015 by and among Noble Energy, Inc., Bluebonnet Merger Sub Inc. and Rosetta Resources Inc., filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K (Date of Event: May 10, 2015) filed on May 11, 2015 and incorporated herein by reference.
3.1		Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (as amended through April 29, 2015), filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 and incorporated herein by reference.
3.2		By-Laws of Noble Energy, Inc. (as amended through April 23, 2013), filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 and incorporated herein by reference.
5.1*		Opinion of Mayer Brown LLP.
10.1		2015 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc., filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 and incorporated herein by reference.
23.1*		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – KPMG LLP
23.2*		Consent of Independent Petroleum Engineers and Geologists – Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc.
23.3*		Consent of Mayer Brown LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1*		Power of Attorney (set forth on the signature page of this registration statement)

 

*	Filed herewith.

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

July 17, 2015		Mayer Brown LLP 700 Louisiana Street Suite 3400 Houston, Texas 77002-2730   Main Tel +1 713 238 3000 Main Fax +1 713 238 4888 www.mayerbrown.com

Noble Energy, Inc.

1001 Noble Energy Way

Houston, Texas 77070

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Noble Energy, Inc. (the “Company”), in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of 708,966 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Shares”), for issuance and sale pursuant to the 2015 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors of Noble Energy, Inc. (the “2015 Plan”). We have participated in the preparation of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”), filed on this date with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), relating to the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act.

In connection with such matters, we have examined originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such documents, corporate records and other instruments as we have deemed necessary for the purposes of this opinion.

For purposes of our opinion, we have assumed (i) the genuineness of all signatures on all documents examined by us, the due authority of the parties signing such documents, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to the original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents. We have also assumed that and that the offer and sale of the Shares complies in all respects with the terms, conditions and restrictions set forth in the Registration Statement and the 2015 Plan. As to any other facts material to the opinions expressed herein which we have not independently established or verified, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company.

Our opinion expressed below is subject to the qualifications that we express no opinion as to the applicability of, compliance with or effect of (i) any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent transfer, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar law affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principals of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

Based on the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set forth herein, we are of opinion that the issuance of the Shares has been duly authorized and, when issued, delivered and fully paid for in accordance with the terms of the Registration Statement and the 2015 Plan, such Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

The foregoing opinions are limited to matters governed by the federal laws of the United States of America and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (including the applicable provisions of the Delaware Constitution and the reported judicial decisions interpreting the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware).

The opinion and statements expressed herein are as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update or supplement this opinion letter to reflect any facts or circumstances that may hereafter come to our attention or any changes in applicable law which may hereafter occur.

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We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

		KPMG LLP 811 Main Street Houston, TX 77002

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Noble Energy, Inc.:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement on Form S-8 of Noble Energy, Inc. of our reports dated February 19, 2015, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of Noble Energy, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, shareholders equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2014, and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014, which reports appear in the December 31, 2014 annual report on Form 10-K of Noble Energy, Inc.

 

Houston, Texas

July 17, 2015

 

		KPMG LLP is a Delaware limited liability partnership, the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity.

Exhibit 23.2

 

July 17, 2015

Mr. Kevin Vorhaben

Noble Energy, Inc.

1001 Noble Energy Way

Houston, Texas 77070

Dear Mr. Vorhaben:

In accordance with your request, we have enclosed a copy of our Consent of Independent Petroleum Engineers and Geologists for the Form S-8 Registration Statement to be filed by Noble Energy, Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Our Consent is based on our review of the draft provided to us on July 14, 2015, and is conditioned upon there being no further changes made that relate to us in the Form S-8. In the event your subsequent filings include further changes relating to our reserves estimates or our firm, we would like to review such changes and provide a new Consent letter.

Please send us a copy of the final Form S-8 when filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

 

RBT:MGH

Enclosures

Please be advised that the digital document you are viewing is provided by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI) as a convenience to our clients. The digital document is intended to be substantively the same as the original signed document maintained by NSAI. The digital document is subject to the parameters, limitations, and conditions stated in the original document. In the event of any differences between the digital document and the original document, the original document shall control and supersede the digital document.

 

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CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM ENGINEERS AND GEOLOGISTS

As independent petroleum engineers and geologists, we hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this registration statement on Form S-8 of Noble Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) of the reference to Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. and the inclusion of our report dated January 22, 2015, in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, of the Company and its subsidiaries, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Houston, Texas

July 17, 2015

Please be advised that the digital document you are viewing is provided by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI) as a convenience to our clients. The digital document is intended to be substantively the same as the original signed document maintained by NSAI. The digital document is subject to the parameters, limitations, and conditions stated in the original document. In the event of any differences between the digital document and the original document, the original document shall control and supersede the digital document.