RWE Dea Norge makes significant gas discovery offshore Norway

RWE Dea Norge is pleased to announce that the company has made a significant gas discovery near the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) September 17, 2010 - RWE Dea Norge A/S, operator of production licence 435 (Zidane) is in the process of finishing the drilling of exploration well 6507/07-14S. The well is located approximately 15 kilometres North West of the Heidrun field and 35 kilometres South of the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea.

Primary objective for the well was to prove hydrocarbons in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Fangst group). Secondary objective was to prove hydrocarbons in Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Tilje formation). The well encountered gas in a 150 meter column in the Fangst group. Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery range between 5 and 18 billion standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable gas. The possibility of finding more hydrocarbons in the license is good.

“We are very pleased that the drilling operation has been successful, both with regards to the discovery itself and to the technical aspects. Throughout the operation our top priorities have been safety and the environment”, says Hugo Sandal, Managing Director of RWE Dea Norge. “This excellent new discovery increases our hydrocarbon resources and shows further growth potential on the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Ralf to Baben, Chief Operating Officer of RWE Dea AG.

Comprehensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out, and a successful drill stem test was performed. The test produced 1.2 million Sm3 gas per day on a 36/64 inch choke. Preliminary gas/oil ratio is estimated to 20,000-30,000 Sm3/Sm3. “Finding solutions to commercialize the discovery will be an exciting task”, Hugo Sandal continues. The licensees will consider producing the discovery using existing infrastructure.

The well is the first exploration well in production licence 435, which was awarded in APA 2006. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,477 metres below the sea surface, and it was terminated in the Tilje formation in the Lower Jurassic. Water depth at the site is 344 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned. Well 6507/7-14S was drilled by the Bredford Dolphin rig, which will now proceed to production licence 420 in the North Sea to drill exploration well 35/9-6S where RWE Dea Norge is the operator.

Licencees:

RWE Dea Norge AS (operator): 40%
Edison International Norway Branch: 20%
Maersk Oil Norway AS: 20%
Norwegian Energy Company ASA: 20%

For further enquiries, please contact:

Uwe-Stephan Lagies
Head of Corporate Communications
T: +49(0)40 – 63 75 2511
M: +49(0)162 – 273 2511

Derek Mösche
Press Spokesman
T: +49(0)40 – 63 75 2670
M: +49(0)162 – 273 2670

Notes to the editors

RWE Dea Norge AS is a subsidiary of the German oil and gas company RWE Dea AG and has been present in Norway for 37 years. The company has ownership interests in several producing fields, such as Snorre, Gjøa and Snøhvit, and is participating in two of the most important recent discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf, Luno and Jordbær. RWE Dea Norge is operator of three exploration licenses, PL435, PL420 and PL330, of which two will be drilled in 2010.

RWE Dea AG, headquartered in Hamburg, is an international company operating in the field of exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil. The company deploys state-of-the-art drilling and production technologies, putting its many years’ experience acquired to good use. RWE Dea has set new standards in the fields of safety and environmental protection.

RWE Dea has stakes in production facilities and concessions in Germany, the UK, Norway, Denmark and Egypt and holds exploration concessions in Algeria, Ireland, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco, Poland and Turkmenistan. Moreover, in Germany, RWE Dea also operates large subterranean storage facilities for natural gas. RWE Dea is part of the RWE Group, one of Europe’s largest energy utilities.

Additional information as Download:
map: Gas discovery in licence PL435

http://www.rwe.com/app/Pressecenter/Download.aspx?pmid=4005339&datei=1

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