UPDATE 1-Damaged drill-ship in shipyard for 44 days - Noble

(Adds detail from report, background)

HOUSTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Offshore oil and gas drilling contractor Noble Corp (NE.N) said on Wednesday a drill-ship under contact to Brazil's Petrobras (PBR.N) (PETR4.SA) that was damaged by fire would spend the rest of 2007 in the shipyard.

Last month, a fire broke out on the Noble Roger Eason NS-15 ship, injuring seven workers.

Noble, based in Sugar Land, Texas, said the vessel will be in the shipyard for at least 44 days. Still, the damage assessment is ongoing and no estimate can be made when the drill-ship might return to service, according to the company's monthly fleet status report.

A company spokesman did not provide additional details.

The drill-ship, which had 106 workers on board at the time of the accident, was under contract to Petrobras for about $137,000 per day through September 2010.

Drill-ships are designed for drilling in deep water without legs holding the vessel to the sea floor. The ships use thrusters to remain stationary while drilling.

Noble also received a letter of intent from Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N) to contract the semisubmersible rig Noble Paul Romano in the Gulf of Mexico for a year for about $482,000 a day, above its prior day-rate of about $435,000, according to the fleet status report.

Rig availability in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has been tight, with daily rental rates for rigs that drill in deep water hovering around $500,000 for newer equipment.