One of the eight 6th generation drillships under construction in South Korea for Seadrill, the West Jupiter is expected to be delivered in August with Total to deploy it in the EGINA ultra-deep offshore project in Nigerian waters.

"The rig will be outfitted to work in up to 10,000 feet of water and is capable of water depths up to 12,000ft and drilling depths up to 37,500ft," Seadrill said.

With the new contract lifting Seadrill's consolidated backlog of work to $US20 billion, its CEO Per Wullf was "very pleased".

"This contract provides an opportunity to deepen our relationship with a key customer and strategically increase our rig fleet in Nigeria, adding the West Jupiter alongside the West Capella which has been operating in the Usan field offshore Nigeria since 2008," he said.

"Seadrill takes pride in continuing to build its presence in the Nigerian oil and gas industry".