Norwegian oilfield services company Archer said new contracts from Equinor would help support a 2,000 person increase in payrolls by the end of the year.

The company reported second quarter revenue of $224.4 million, a $6 million increase from the first quarter.

John Lechner, the company's chief executive officer, said the boost was a reflection of emerging recovery offshore Norway. Four new platform contracts awarded by Norwegian energy major Equinor, formerly Statoil, will begin operating by the fourth quarter.

"The addition of these platform crews, along with increased personnel coming on board to support growing activity across our other Eastern Hemisphere divisions, will see our Norwegian headcount increase by about 30 percent to 2,000 by year end," he said in a statement.

Archer received the bulk of the more than $1.5 billion in contracts from Equinor for work ranging from maintenance to drilling on 18 of its fixed platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf. Combined, Archer took in about half of the total contract value.

All of the contracts awarded by Equinor carried a four-year term, effective Oct. 1.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation's energy regulator, reported total production for oil was 3 percent less than expected and 4 percent below last year's forecast. So far this year, the NPD said 86 new development wells were drilled in Norwegian waters, about the same level as this time last year.

To keep production going, the government called for a "significant effort" from all players.

The offshore trend for Norway is accelerating, however. The NPD said it expected at least 40 exploration wells this year, compared with about 36 last year. Much of the focus, the regulator said, has been in the North and Norwegian Seas where drilling infrastructure is already in place.

"I'm pleased to see that the recovery is starting to build in most of our operating areas," Lechner said.

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