March 04, 2008 02:10 ET
Acquiring major operatorship in Brazil
STAVANGER, NORWAY--(Marketwire - March 4, 2008) -
StatoilHydro (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) and Anadarko (NYSE: APC) have signed
an agreement whereby StatoilHydro will take over the remaining 50% in
the Brazilian Peregrino project. This will give StatoilHydro a 100%
working interest and operatorship of the development.
In addition, StatoilHydro is acquiring Anadarko's 25% interest in the
Kaskida discovery in deepwater US Gulf of Mexico.
For these assets StatoilHydro will pay Anadarko USD 1.8 billion, plus
a maximum pre-tax value of USD 300 million related to the Peregrino
field to be earned by 2020, conditional on future oil prices above
pre-defined threshold levels.
"This acquisition strengthens our position in Brazil and adds an
important new legacy operatorship to StatoilHydro's international
portfolio. We are establishing leading positions in attractive core
areas. This is exactly in line with the strategic roadmap we
presented at the Capital Markets Day in January - here focusing on
deep water and heavy oil," says Peter Mellbye, Executive Vice
President for International Exploration & Production.
"These assets have an excellent strategic fit both in Brazil and in
the Gulf of Mexico where we will utilise our increased oil recovery
experiences together with our project management skills for large
offshore developments. The transaction underpins our medium and long
term production growth by adding significant reserves and resources,"
he adds.
The Peregrino field is located in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil.
Expected reserves in this heavy oil field are estimated at
approximately 500 million barrels, excluding identified upsides. The
field is expected to come on stream in 2010, adding new production to
StatoilHydro.
StatoilHydro sees a significant upside in the recoverable resources
in Peregrino, both by a further increase in today's 20% recovery
factor and by including additional resources outside the Peregrino
main field. Additional potential resources were indicated by the
high-resolution 3D seismic acquired in 2007, and some of these
resources were proven by the new well drilled in 2007 (the
3-PRG-0001-RJS). Additional appraisal wells are required to prove the
remaining upside in the southwest and south extensions of the field.
The field is being developed with a Floating Production Storage and
Offloading vessel (FPSO) and two platforms. Planned plateau
production from the field is to be 100 000 bbls/d which is expected
to be reached within the first year of production. The field
development plan was submitted and approved in 2007. All development
contracts have been entered into and the execution phase of the
project has started. The transaction valuation is based on the
latest update on cost and schedule.
Kaskida is one of the largest deep water discoveries in the US Gulf
of Mexico in recent years. Operated by BP (55%) and with Devon as the
other co-owner (20%), Kaskida is located in block 292 in Keathley
Canyon where StatoilHydro already holds several exploration leases.
Kaskida adds resources to StatoilHydro and will contribute to long
term growth post 2015.
"The Kaskida discovery has significant resource potentials. By
leveraging our deepwater technologies, we believe we can add even
more value to the discovery. When selling our assets in shallow water
in December last year, we announced that we would devote our efforts
in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The Kaskida acquisition fits well in our
portfolio and strengthens our position in this core area," says
Mellbye.
The transaction is pending governmental approval both for Peregrino
and Kaskida. In addition, the other partners on Kaskida have
pre-emption rights within the next 30 days.
A press conference will be held at StatoilHydro's IB centre in
Stavanger at 10:00 Central European time today.
There will be a conference call at 13.30 CET where participants can
call in at + 47 800 80 119 (Norway free call) or + 47 230 00 400
(International dial in).
The presentation package can be downloaded from StatoilHydro's
website: www.statoilhydro.com
Contacts:
Investor relations:
Lars Troen Sørensen, senior vice president for investor relations,
+ 47 90 64 91 44 (mobile), +47 51 99 77 90 (office)
Geir Bjørnstad, vice president investor relations, USA,
+1 203 978 6950
Media:
Kjersti T Morstøl, media relations manager,
+47 91 78 28 14 (mobile)
Ola Morten Aanestad, vice president for media relations,
+47 48 08 02 12 (mobile)
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