8th Jan 2007 15:01
BG GROUP plc08 January 2007 Media Information 8 January 2007 First oil from Buzzard field in UK North Sea Oil production from the Buzzard field in the UK North Sea began on Sunday 7thJanuary 2007, BG Group and its co-venturers announced today. Buzzard is one of the largest field developments in the UK North Sea in morethan a decade. With estimated recoverable reserves of over 500 million barrelsof oil equivalent (mmboe) it has the potential to deliver approximately 10% ofthe UK's annual forecast oil demand at peak rates. The field is operated by Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited and is located 100kilometres northeast of Aberdeen in the Outer Moray Firth, Central North Sea. BGGroup holds a 21.73% interest in the field which has cost a total of £1.5billion to develop. Peak production - expected this year - is forecast to bearound 200,000 barrels of oil per day and 60 million standard cubic feet of gasper day. Mark Carne, BG Executive Vice President for Europe and Central Asia said: "I am delighted to announce the delivery of first oil from the Buzzard fieldonly three years after development approval from the Government. BG drilled thediscovery well in May 2001 and has been involved throughout the development ofthis major North Sea find. "BG is a long-established investor and operator in the North Sea and we remaincommitted to investing the resources and expertise required to maximiseproduction from the UK's natural resources." There are matters discussed in this media information that are forward looking statements. Such statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. For a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ from the forward looking statements, refer to the Company's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005. TheCompany does not undertake any obligation to update publicly, or revise, forward looking 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 formation tests to be economically and legallyproducible under existing economic and operating conditions. In this pressrelease 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. Discovered in 2001, Buzzard is located in 317 feet of water approximately 100kilometres northeast of Aberdeen in the Outer Moray Firth. The field straddlestwo licences - P986 (Blocks 19/10 and 20/6) and P928 (Blocks 19/5a and 20/1s).The crude quality produced from Buzzard is 32 degree API and is exported throughan 18 inch pipeline to the Forties Pipeline System. The oil produced will beprocessed at the BP Kinneil facility. Gas from Buzzard will be exported througha 10-inch pipeline on the UK Frigg pipeline to the St Fergus Gas Terminal. Estimated recoverable reserves are in excess of 500mmboe from an estimated totalof 1.2 billion barrels of oil in place Buzzard is operated by Nexen Petroleum U.K. Ltd (43.21254%). The other JointVenture partners are: Petro-Canada UK Ltd (29.89122%), BG Group plc (21.73307%) and Edinburgh Oil &Gas Limited (5.16317%). 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). 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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