BG Group plc and Edison International S.p.A., announced today the successful completion of Sienna-2, the first Sienna appraisal well in the West Delta Deep Marine Concession (WDDM), offshore the Nile Delta, Egypt.

Sienna-2 marks the completion of the appraisal programme to confirm sufficient reserves to underpin Train 2 of the Egyptian LNG project.

The well, located in the north central area of WDDM, 77 kilometres offshore, was drilled to a depth of 2,597 metres in 991 metres of water. Sienna-2 is the most northerly well drilled so far in the concession and confirms the northern extension of the Sienna gas reservoir. The well was not tested.

Stuart Fysh, Vice President, BG Egypt, said: "Our outstanding exploration record in the West Delta Deep Marine Concession confirms that there are sufficient reserves to support the first two trains of our planned Egyptian LNG facility. BG, along with its partners in Egyptian LNG - Edison International, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company and Gaz de France - are on course to sanction the first train in the summer of 2002, when monetisation of export reserves will begin."

The Sienna-2 success continues the 100 per cent drilling success rate in the WDDM concession, bringing the total number of successful exploration and appraisal wells to 16. This latest success follows completion of the
Sapphire-4 appraisal well in February and the Solar-1 exploration well in January, earlier this year. Sapphire-4, drilled to a depth of 3,040 metres in 488 metres of water, confirmed the north-east extension of the Sapphire field. Solar-1, drilled to a depth of 2,403 metres in 1,046 metres of water, marks the discovery of a new gas accumulation in the prolific WDDM concession.

Stuart Fysh continued: "BG Egypt and Edison are set to further define the prospectivity of the concession with the acquisition of a 1,200 square kilometres 3D seismic survey in the second quarter of this year."

BG Egypt and Edison, both 50 per cent partners in WDDM, are currently engaged in the development of the Scarab/Saffron fields in the concession. These are on course to produce first gas for the domestic market in the first quarter of 2003.

Notes to Editors

Egyptian LNG

BG Egypt, Edison, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) are developers of the proposed US$900 million Egyptian LNG export plant to be based at Idku, east Alexandria.

In January 2002, under a 20-year contract, the partners signed a Heads of Terms agreement with Gaz de France (GdF) for the sale of the output capacity of the first train of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The first train will have a capacity of 3.6 million tonnes of LNG per year and first production is scheduled for mid-2005.

A Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study of the plant, storage tanks and marine facilities is being carried out by Bechtel Inc., of the USA and is close to conclusion. The field development plan is near completion and environmental and planning approvals are in the process of being finalised.

Last month, the Egyptian People's Assembly approved amendments to the WDDM Concession Agreement, which was required to facilitate the LNG export project. In WDDM, BG and Edison each have a 50 per cent shareholding.

The percentage shareholdings in both Egyptian LNG and Train One Company are:

BG Egypt

BG Group plc has been active in Egypt for over ten years and has achieved a highly successful record in the country via investments in the upstream and downstream sectors.

Significant projects include the offshore Rosetta project, which came on-stream in January 2001 and delivers gas into the Egyptian national grid under a 25-year agreement with EGPC; development of the WDDM concession; and the Nile Valley Gas Company, which delivers gas to customers in the Upper Egypt region.

Partners

Edison International S.p.A., is BG Egypt's partner in the Rosetta and WDDM concessions and, together with other local partners, in the gas transportation and distribution business through the Nile Valley Gas Company. Edison is one of Italy's leading private energy groups.

Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company are the State corporations that presently plan, implement and oversee policies relating to oil and gas corporations in Egypt. EGPC and EGAS co-ordinate these activities through their participation in companies involved in exploration, production, refining, processing, petrochemicals, distribution and transportation.