Husky Energy leases new rig

Husky Energy, a major investor in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry, has signed a five-year contract with a Norwegian company called Seadrill to use Seadrill's new harsh environment semi-submersible rig called the West Mira.

John Fredriksen, chairman of Seadrill Limited, said in a news release on Monday that Husky intends to use the West Mira in its operations in Eastern Canada and Greenland.

Husky Energy is the main operator at the White Rose oil field on the Grand Banks off the east coast of Newfoundland, and it also has large holdings of oil and gas reserves in the nearby Jeanne d'Arc Basin.

The West Mira has been under construction at the Hyundai Samho shipyard in South Korea, and it has been scheduled to be completed in 2015.

The five-year agreement between Husky and Seadrill will start at that time.