John Fredriksen's Seadrill has struck an agreement with Archer Energy of the US to cancel financial guarantees it provided.
The drillship company said the move was part of its restructuring plans.
The deal with Archer and its banks to extinguish $253m in guarantees is in exchange for a cash payment of $25m by Seadrill.
Seadrill said it remained in constructive discussions with Archer and its lenders to write off the remaining $25m in exchange for a cash payment representing 10% of the face value.
