Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Det norske) has on behalf of the partners in the Ivar Aasen project, exercised its contractual right to extend the contract for the newbuild ultra harsh environment jack-up, XL Enhanced 2, by two years. Consequently, the duration of the firm contract is now five years. The estimated value of the two-year contract extension is approximately USD 280 million, bringing the total estimated contract value to approximately USD 700 million. Det norske has options to extend the contract up to a total of seven years.

The rig is currently under construction at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Commencement of drilling operation is scheduled for late 2014 following delivery of the rig from the shipyard and mobilisation to the North Sea. The rig will be used for drilling on the Ivar Aasen development in the Norwegian North Sea.

“Det norske is a valued client of Maersk Drilling and we are very pleased to extend the scope of our work with Det norske on the Ivar Aasen development. The extension of the contract for XL Enhanced 2 confirms the need for high specification rigs in Norway and is a confirmation of our strategy to expand our position in the Norwegian jack-up market and consolidate our market leading position in this segment in Norway,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.

Svein Ola Syrstad, Vice President Drilling in Det norske comments: “We are pleased with the extension of the contract with Maersk Drilling. The extension ensures rig capacity for the initial drilling and completion activities at Ivar Aasen.”

In December 2011, Det norske awarded Maersk Drilling a three year contract for the XL Enhanced 2 jack-up with options for Det norske to extend the contract up to a total of seven years. At that time the contract was subject to submission and subsequent approval by the Norwegian Government of the development plans for Ivar Aasen. On 21 May 2013, the Storting approved the development of Ivar Aasen. The Ivar Aasen field contains approximately 150 million barrels of oil equivalents.

The XL Enhanced 2 rig is the second of three XL Enhanced jack-ups ordered by Maersk Drilling in 2011 and 2012. The three rigs have delivery from yard in 2014 and 2015 and have all secured long term contracts. The XL Enhanced design is a further enhanced version of the existing ultra-harsh environment jack-ups Maersk Innovator and Maersk Inspirer. Like their sister rigs, the three new rigs are designed to operate in the harsh environment found in the North Sea and comply with all rules and regulations in the strictly regulated Norwegian sector.

About Maersk Drilling
Maersk Drilling has an ambition of becoming a significant contributor to the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group with a profit of USD 1 billion by 2018, while conducting incident free operations. Maersk Drilling provides high-efficiency drilling services to oil companies around the world. In addition to the four drillships and three jack-up rigs in order, the modern fleet counts 26 drilling rigs including deepwater semi-submersibles, high-end jack-up rigs and cantilevered drilling barges. Maersk Drilling was established in 1972 and employs an international staff of 3,300 people.