Total awards $1.1B deal for Nigerian oil rig

HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 3 (UPI) -- Offshore drilling company Seadrill Ltd. said it signed a $1.1 billion deal with French energy company Total to help develop reserves in the deep waters off the Nigerian coast.

"This contract provides an opportunity to deepen our relationship with a key customer and strategically increase our rig fleet in Nigeria," Per Wullf, Seadrill's chief executive officer, said in a statement Monday.

The five-year contract for Seadrill, which is registered in Bermuda, calls for a drillship for the West Jupiter field in the deep waters offshore Nigeria. The rig will be able to work in waters as deep as 10,000 feet and will be delivered to Total by August.

There was no statement on the deal from Total.

The French energy company in April said first-quarter production of 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day was 6 percent lower year-on-year. It attributed the decline to "portfolio changes" and security issues in Libya and Nigeria.