A London-headquartered offshore drilling contractor has agreed to rent out two of its rigs to a customer in the Middle East for another three years in a deal worth $225million (£170million).
Saudi Aramco has been leasing Seadrill’s AOD I and AOD II jack-up rigs since 2013.
In line with the extension, Saudi Aramco will keep hold of the platforms until summer 2019.
The rigs were completed by the Keppel shipyard in 2013 and can drill to depths of 400ft.
Seadrill has a presence in Aberdeen in the form of its subsidiary, North Atlantic Drilling, which had been supplying the West Pheonix rig to Total E&P west of Shetland.
It also has an international service centre on Merseyside, which it opened in 2014, creating nearly 100 jobs in the process.
The business moved its headquarters from Stavanger to London three years ago.