19th Jul 2005 07:00
Total S.A.18 July 2005 Total signs a Production Sharing Contract for Deep Offshore Block OPL 223 in Nigeria Paris, July 18, 2005 - Total announces that its Nigerian operating subsidiary,Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. (EPNL), has signed a Production Sharing Contract withthe Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the Oil ProspectingLicense (OPL) 223 located offshore southeast Nigeria. OPL 223 lies in water depths of between 200 and 1,000 metres. This licence liesjust east of OPL 222 where EPNL, as operator, has made significant commercialdiscoveries in the Ukot and Usan fields. Both fields are currently underconsideration for development. NNPC is the concession holder on OPL 223 with EPNL as the operator of the permitholding a 90% stake with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, asubsidiary of NNPC, holding a 10% participating interest. Exploration activities are planned to start soon with the implementation of aseismic survey programme. The signing of this contract is an additional step that confirms Total'sdetermined growth strategy in Nigeria and demonstrates its commitment to andconfidence in the country's oil and gas industry's development potential. ****** Total is the fourth largest oil end gas company in the world with operations in more then 130 countries. Total's activities cover the whole energy chain of the petroleum industry: exploration, oil and gas production, refining and marketing, trading and power generation. The Group is also a major player in chemicals. Total has more than 111,000 employees worldwide. More information can be found on the company's website: www.total.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
TTA.L