Maersk Drilling has landed a four-year contract with Brunei Shell for the Maersk Completer jack-up rig, says the company in a press release.

The contracts runs from December 2014 and serves as a direct extension to an existing contract for the rig. In addition to this four year extension, Brunei Shell has an option another three-year extension.

“We are very pleased to continue our cooperation with Brunei Shell Petroleum in Brunei. We see this contract as a recognition of our solid drilling performance and as a further strengthening of our relationship with Brunei Shell Petroleum,” says Maersk Drilling CEO Claus V. Hemmingsen in the press release.

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Maersk Completer joined the Maersk Drilling fleet in 2007, and has since 2009 been on contract with Brunei Shell. The rig - a so-called jack-up rig - can operate at depths of up to 114.3 meters and drill down to 9 kilometers below the sea floor.

The press release does not name the price of the Brunei Shell contract extension.

Following this contract, Maersk Drilling just needs to secure a contract for sister rig Maersk Convincer and two drilling vessels in order to be fully booked for 2014.

This should not be a problem for the two drilling vessels, as the market for deep-water exploration drilling is plagued by scarce capacity and strong demand.

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