Maersk Drilling has been awarded a 5-year contract extension for the semi-submersible Heydar Aliyev rig with BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited acting as Operator of the Shah Deniz field . The rig will continue working on the development of the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan. The extension is in direct continuation of the current contract ending May 2016 and extends the contract until May 2021. The estimated value of the contract extension is up to USD 523m.

“We are very pleased with the extension for the Heydar Aliyev rig and look forward to continue our long standing cooperation with BP,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group, and continues: “With this contract we continue to build our contract backlog providing further revenue visibility. It is very encouraging that we continue to build backlog in this very challenging market.” The Heydar Aliyev rig (formerly known as Maersk Explorer) was delivered in 2003 and is designed for year-round operations at water depths from 40m to 1,000m (147ft to 3,280ft).