6th Mar 2007 07:03
BG GROUP plc06 March 2007 Media Information 05 March 2007 BG Group To Sell Selected Canadian Assets BG Group today announced that it has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement withCanada-based Progress Energy Limited for the sale of some of its Canadian assets- specifically those known as Bubbles, Ojay and Copton/Lynx - for a totalconsideration of C$ 525 million (US$ 445 million approx). Closing the transaction is conditional upon clearance under the CanadianCompetition Act which is expected in April 2007. BG will retain significant exploration prospects in Canada and Alaska as wellits 50% interest in the producing Waterton asset in Southwest Alberta. BG'sretained exploration prospects consist of operatorship of two licences in theCentral Mackenzie Valley of the Northwest Territories covering 110,196 hectares;ownership of 80,233 hectares in the Foothills of British Columbia; and, inAlaska a 33.3% and 40% interest in over 2.5 million acres of explorationpotential in the North Slope Foothills and Eastern North Slope respectively. 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. Notes to Editors: BG Group plc is a global natural gas business. Active on five continents in 25countries, it operates four business segments - Exploration and Production, LNG,Transmission and Distribution and Power. BG entered Canada with the purchase of El Paso Oil and Gas Canada Inc in March2004. The cash consideration was US$345.6 million. The properties purchased arelocated in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin covering the four core areasof Bubbles, Ojay, Copton and Waterton. In May 2005, BG acquired two licences (EL 429 & EL 432) in the Colville Lakearea of the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories, about 700 miles north westof Yellowknife. BG has a 75% interest and is operator. In September 2005, BG acquired a 100% interest in a 3,200 acre licence and a 50%interest in a 1,920 acre licence in the Waterton area of Southeast Alberta In January 2006, BG acquired a 100% interest in a 45,000 acre licence in theRobb Lake area of Northeast British Columbia In January 2006, BG signed a Participation Agreement with Anadarko andPetro-Canada for a 33.33% farm-in to 2.1m acres on the Alaskan North Slope.Alaska's North Slope has estimated discovered reserves in excess of 17 billionbarrels of oil and 35 trillion cubic feet of gas. In May 2006, BG signed an Exploration Agreement with Anadarko for a 40% share in208,000 acres on the Alaskan Eastern North Slope. The acreage is situated nearPrudhoe Bay field which has already produced over 10 billion barrels of oil. 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. We use certainterms in the Notes to Editors of this press release, such as "estimateddiscovered reserves", that the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us fromincluding in filings with the SEC. US investors are urged to consider closelythe disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No. 1-09337, available from us at BG Groupplc, 100 Thames Valley Park Drive, Reading RG6 1PT. You may read and copy thisinformation at the SEC's public reference room, located at 100 F Street NE, Room1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for furtherinformation on the public reference room. This filing is also available at theinternet website maintained by SEC at http://www.sec.gov Enquiries: Communications: +44 (0) 118 929 2462Out of hours media mobile: +44 (0) 791 718 5707Communications (North America) +1 713 599 4009Investor Relations +44 (0) 118 929 3025 Website: www.bg-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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