General Electric: Bringing Good Things to Life in Offshore?

This year hasn't been kind to offshore drillers like Transocean ( RIG ), Atwood Oceanics ( ATW ), and Rowan ( RDC ). Noble ( NE ) is hoping General Electric ( GE ) can help change that. Shares of offshore drillers have, for the most, part stumbled in 2017. Atwood has tumbled 31%, Rowan plunged 23%, Transocean has slumped 18%, all of which make Noble's 2% decline look so much better by comparison. But offshore drillers aren't just waiting around for things to change. Transocean, for instance, is selling its shallow-water rigs to concentrate on deepwater. And today, Noble announced that its partnering with General Electric to create a data-driven product to increase efficiency for offshore rigs. RBC's Kurt Hallead offers his take on what General Clectric can offer Noble: