23rd Apr 2008 07:06
BHP Billiton PLC23 April 2008 23 April 2008Number 15/08 BHP BILLITON QUARTERLY REPORT ON EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES QUARTER ENDED 31 MARCH 2008 This report covers the Company's exploration and development activities for thequarter ended 31 March 2008. This report together with the Production Reportrepresents the Interim Management Statement for the purposes of the UK ListingAuthority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. There have been no significantchanges to the financial position of the Group in the quarter ended 31 March2008. Unless otherwise stated, BHP Billiton's interest in the projects referredto in this report is 100 per cent and references to project schedules are basedon calendar years. DEVELOPMENT First production was successfully achieved at Yabulu during the quarter ended 31March 2008. This project will not be reported in future Exploration andDevelopment Reports. During the quarter Newcastle Third Port Project (energy coal),Douglas-Middelburg Optimisation (energy coal) and North West Shelf North RankinB (petroleum) were sanctioned. PROJECT AND SHARE OF INITIAL PRODUCTION CAPACITY QUARTERLY PROGRESSOWNERSHIP APPROVED PRODUCTION (100%) CAPEX TARGET US$M DATEPetroleumProjects Neptune (US) 405 Mid CY08 50,000 barrels of Revised schedule due to structural oil and 50 million anomalies in the hull. See News cubic feet gas per Release dated 25 March 2008. Offshore day hookup and commissioning completed. Drilling of the sixth well in progress with five of the seven wells completed.35%Oil/Gas North West 200 End CY08 800 million cubic On schedule and budget. TopsidesShelf Angel feet gas per day successfully installed.(Australia) and 50,000 bpd16.67% condensateOil/Gas North West 350 Late CY08 LNG processing On schedule and budget. On-siteShelf Train 5 capacity of 4.2 construction and hookup continued. million tpa(Australia)16.67%LNG Shenzi (US) 1,940 Mid CY09 100,000 barrels of On schedule and budget. Hull arrived oil and 50 million in Gulf of Mexico. Export pipelines cubic feet gas per and infield flowlines installed. day Drilling of third well in progress with two wells completed.44%Oil/Gas Pyrenees 1,200 1H CY10 96,000 barrels of On schedule and budget. Floating oil and 60 million Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) cubic feet gas per conversion continued. Topside module day construction commenced.(Australia)71.43%Oil/Gas Bass Strait 500 CY11 10,000 bpd On schedule and budget. ContractsKipper condensate and executed for subsea equipment and(Australia) processing capacity umbilicals. of 80 million cubic feet gas per day32.5% - 50%Gas/GasLiquids North West 850 CY12 2,500 million cubic New gas compression platform to beShelf North feet gas per day constructed adjacent to the existingRankin B Gas North Rankin A platform.Compression(Australia)16.67% Approval announced, see News Release dated 31 March 2008.LNG MineralsProjects Alumar - 725 Q2 CY09 2 million tpa of On revised schedule and budget.Refinery alumina Engineering has been completed,Expansion procurement is well advanced and(Brazil) 36% construction is nearing 50% completion.Alumina Yabulu 556 Q1 CY08 45,000 tpa nickel Project was completed and first(Australia) production achieved during the quarter.100%NickelCliffs 139 1H CY08 360,000 tpa nickel On schedule and budget. Total project(Australia) ore progress is 58% complete.100%Nickel Iron Ore 1,850 1H CY10 26 million tpa On schedule and budget in local(Western currency. Engineering progress is nowAustralia) over 80% complete and construction progress over 20% complete.RGP4 additional iron ore system capacity86.2%Iron Ore Samarco Third 590 1H CY08 7.6 million tpa On schedule and budget in localPellet Plant currency. Commissioning activities(Brazil) have commenced.50% additional iron ore capacityIron Ore Gemco 110 1H CY09 Additional On schedule and budget. Project civil(Australia) construction is underway and procurement activities progressing well.60% 1 million tpaManganese manganese concentrate Newcastle 390 End CY10 Export coal loading On schedule and budget. ProjectThird Port facility 30 million sanctioned during quarter. See NewsProject tpa Release dated 22 January 2008.(Australia) Earthworks contractors have beenmobilised and dredging has commenced.35.5%Energy Coal Klipspruit (South 450 2H CY09 Incremental 1.8 million On schedule and budget. AllAfrica) tpa export coal main contracts placed, with construction underway across the site.100% Incremental 2.1 million tpa domestic Energy Coal Douglas-Middelburg 975 Mid CY10 10 million tpa export The project was sanctionedOptimisation thermal coal and 8.5 during the quarter. See News(South Africa) million tpa domestic Release dated 29 February 2008. thermal coal.100% Energy Coal MINERALS EXPLORATION BHP Billiton continued to pursue global exploration opportunities for keycommodities of interest utilising both in-house capabilities and partnerships. Grassroots exploration continued on diamond targets in Angola and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC), on copper targets in Australia, Chile, Mongolia, theDRC and Kazakhstan; and on nickel targets in Australia, Russia, Brazil andAfrica. Exploration for iron ore, coal and bauxite was undertaken in a number ofregions including Australia, South America, Russia and West Africa. For the nine months ended 31 March 2008, BHP Billiton spent US$437 million onminerals exploration of which US$353 million was expensed. PETROLEUM EXPLORATION Exploration and appraisal wells drilled during the quarter or in the process ofdrilling as at 31 March 2008. WELL LOCATION BHP BILLITON EQUITY STATUS Thebe-2 Exmouth Plateau 100% BHP Billiton and Drilling ahead. operator Western Australia WA-346-P Snarf-1 Browse Basin 20% BHP Billiton Waiting on rig to continue drilling. Western (Woodside operator) Australia WA-275-P Warrabkook-1 Browse Basin 25% BHP Billiton and Dry hole. operator Western Plugged and abandoned. Australia WA-303-P Petroleum exploration expenditure for the nine months ended 31 March 2008 wasUS$479 million of which US$240 million was expensed. Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our Internet site:www.bhpbilliton.com Australia United Kingdom & South AfricaEmma Meade, Media Relations Andre Liebenberg, Investor RelationsTel: +61 3 9609 2896 Mobile: +61 409 199 236 Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7920 236 974Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Leng Lau, Investor Relations Illtud Harri, Media RelationsTel: +61 3 9609 4202 Mobile: +61 403 533 706 Tel: +44 20 7802 4195 Mobile: +44 7920 237 246Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] United StatesTracey Whitehead, Investor & Media RelationsTel: US +1 713 599 6100 or UK +44 20 7802 4031Mobile: +44 7917 648 093Email: [email protected] BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209Registered in Australia Registered in England and WalesRegistered Office: Level 27, 180 Lonsdale Street Melbourne Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1BH UnitedVictoria 3000 KingdomTelephone +61 1300 554 757 Facsimile +61 3 9609 3015 Telephone +44 20 7802 4000 Facsimile +44 20 7802 4111 The BHP Billiton Group is headquartered in Australia This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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