18th Dec 2006 12:15
BG GROUP plc18 December 2006 Media Information 18 December 2006 BG Group increases stake in UK North Sea fields BG Group today announced it has signed Sale and Purchase Agreements withConocoPhillips (COP) for the acquisition of COP's equity stakes in the Armadaand Everest fields in the Central North Sea. BG will acquire COP's 11.45% interest in the Armada field (BG operated),increasing its stake to 58.22%. In the Everest field (BP operated), BG willacquire a further 1.0134% interest taking its total stake to 59.3234%. As partof the agreement BG also agreed to purchase COP's interest in Block 22/14a(16.89%) which is located to the south west of Everest. Completion of theacquisition is expected in the first quarter of 2007, subject to standardpartner and DTI consents. The total consideration is US$143 million. Mark Carne, Executive Vice President BG Europe and Central Asia, said: "I am delighted that we have agreed these purchases which increase ourstakeholding and control in two key oil and gas fields in the UK ContinentalShelf. "The strengthening of our position in the Armada 'hub' will not only increaseour equity share of production from the field but will also enhance value fromthe tie-backs of the Seymour and Maria fields and prospective future productionfrom our Norwegian interests across the median line. "The increased stakeholding in Armada and Everest reinforces our commitment tothe North Sea and continues our investment in the region." There are matters discussed in this media information that are forward lookingstatements. Such statements are only predictions and actual events or resultsmay differ materially. For a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ from the forward looking statements, refer to theCompany's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005. TheCompany does not undertake any obligation to update publicly, or revise, forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. Cautionary note to US investors - The United States Securities and ExchangeCommission permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, todisclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actualproduction or conclusive information tests to be economically and legallyproducible under existing economic and operating conditions. In the Notes toEditors we use the term "estimated recoverable reserves" that the SEC'sguidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. USinvestors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, FileNo. 1-09337, available from us at BG Group, 100 Thames Valley Park Drive,Reading RG6 1PT. You may read and copy this information at the SEC's publicreference room, located at 100 F Street NE, Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549.Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the publicreference room. This filing is also avail able at the internet websitemaintained by SEC at http://www.sec.gov Notes to Editors: BG Group plc is a global natural gas business. Active on five continents in over25 countries, it operates four business segments - Exploration and Production,LNG, Transmission and Distribution and Power. BG Group has interests in over 20 UKCS fields. It is active in 87 blocks in theUK North Sea, and is operator in 44 of them. BG Group operates the Armada, Mariaand Seymour fields in the Central North Sea, the Blake and Atlantic fields inthe Outer Moray Firth, and some of the Easington Catchment Area fields in theSouthern North Sea (Neptune, Mercury, Minerva and Apollo). The Armada gas condensate fields - Fleming, Drake and Hawkins - span fiveexploration blocks and extend over 31 sq km in the Central North Sea. Followingtwo development phases, which were completed in September 2002 at a total cost£513 million, an average production rate of 170 million standard cubic feet perday (mmscfd) and 6400 barrels per day (bpd) was achieved in 2005. The Everest field is also located in the Central North Sea but is operated byBP. An average production rate of 115 mmscfd and 4000 bpd was achieved in 2005. The South West Seymour area of the BG operated Seymour field (BG 57%) wassuccessfully drilled from the Armada platform in 2002. First production wasachieved in March 2003 and an average rate of 48 mmscfd and 1500 bpd wasachieved in 2005. A second well was drilled into the North West Seymour area in2004 and production of black oil was achieved in April 2006. Production from the BG operated Maria field will be tied back to Armada.Estimated recoverable reserves for Maria and Maria Horst are in the region of 30million barrels of oil equivalent. First production is scheduled for 2007. Armada and Everest gas is exported via the CATS pipeline to Teesside, while theproduced liquids go via the Forties Pipeline System to the Kinneil processingplant at Grangemouth. Enquiries: Communications +44 (0) 118 929 2462 Out of hours media mobile: +44 (0) 791 718 5707 Investor Relations Chris Lloyd/Helen Parris/ Siobhan Andrews +44 (0) 118 929 3025 Website: www.bg-group.com - ends - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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