Under the contract, Odfjell will use the semi-submersible mobile drilling rig, Deepsea Atlantic, to drill six wells at the two licenses.

Work under the contract is scheduled to commence in early first quarter 2019 and is expected to last for 18 months.

Odfjell has signed a master framework agreement (MFA) with Equinor. The deal has terms that will be used for future rig contracts with Odfjell on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Equinor Procurements senior vice-president Pål Eitrheim said: “We have reached a long-term agreement with standard terms that will ensure more efficient procurement processes for future assignments with Odfjell.

“In addition, we have secured an efficient rig, Deepsea Atlantic, for a fixed period to start with, before we move to continuing options that can be exercised across Equinor-operated licenses.

“The options will have market index prices ensuring that we have competitive conditions in the market at all times.”

Additionally, the rig owner will be responsible for casing running, slop treatment and cuttings handling, remote control vehicle (ROV) and fuel.

Equinor drilling & well senior vice-president Geir Tungesvik said: “This is a performance-based contract aiming to promote safe and efficient operations, and it includes an incentive to reduce CO2 emissions.”

Separately, Equinor has announced its plan to invest NOK1.9bn ($230m) to drill three new wells on the Fram oil and gas field in the northern part of the North Sea.

The three wells, which will be drilled through Troll C platform, are expected to provide 70 million new barrels of oil and gas.

Equinor has 45% stake in the field while other partners include ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway with 25% interest, Neptune Energy with 15% stake, and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge with 15% interest.