Centrica Energi has signed a contract with Maersk Drilling worth at least £37.2million.
It will see the ultra-harsh environment jack-up Maersk Giant drill two to three wells for Centrica’s Norwegian upstream arm off Norway.
The work is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2013 and last about 170-210 days, with a day rate of £217,000.
Maersk said the deal meant its rig capacity in Norway was now sold out until the second quarter of 2014.
The firm said it was running six of the nine jack-up rigs in the region at the moment, adding that demand for ultra-harsh environment rigs kept growing while rig supply remained tight.