Maersk gets $284 mln Statoil drilling job

Maersk Drilling, a unit of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk has won a two-year contract worth $284 million for its Maersk Gallant jack-up rig from Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil, Reuters reports.

The contract includes an option for a one-year extension and is for work in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, Maersk Drilling said in a statement on Wednesday.

The job will begin once the rig's current contract with ConocoPhillips ends either in the second quarter of 2014 or second quarter of 2015, depending on whether ConocoPhillips exercises a one-year option for the rig, Maersk Drilling said.

"This contract improves our forward contract coverage even further, providing us with high earnings visibility," Maersk Drilling Chief Executive Claus Hemmingsen said in the statement.