BG Group today announced that it has acquired
a 45 percent interest in, and operatorship of, Block 332 offshore
Nigeria under a farm-in agreement with Sahara Energy Exploration & Production
Limited (‘Sahara’). The agreement marks BG’s
entry into the Nigerian upstream sector and comes as BG, along
with its partners, Sahara and Seven Energy Nigeria Limited
(‘Seven Energy’), yesterday signed a Production
Sharing Contract (PSC) for Block 332 with the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Sahara, which will retain a 45 percent interest, secured Block
332 in the 2005 Nigerian Licensing Round held in August. Seven
Energy will hold the remaining 10 percent interest.
BG Group Executive Vice President for the Mediterranean Basin
and Africa, Stuart Fysh, said: “Nigeria is a prolific
hydrocarbon province which fits well with our market focused
Atlantic Basin strategy. This attractive farm-in opportunity
represents BG’s entry into Nigeria’s upstream sector
and we look forward to working with our partners to play an
active role in the continued development of Nigeria’s
energy sector.”
The work programme will be carried out in two phases, the
first involving the acquisition of 3D seismic and one exploration
well.
Note to Editors:
Block 332 is located in deep water (100 – 1,000m) offshore
western Niger Delta, approximately 100km south-east of the
commercial capital Lagos and lies between latitudes 5º 50’N
and 6º 20’N.
BG Group currently has a Memorandum of Understanding with
Chevron, Shell and NNPC to examine the feasibility of jointly
developing an LNG facility near Olokola in Nigeria’s
western states of Ondo and Ogun. Block 332 is located approximately
50 kilometers south-west of the Olokola LNG site.
In October 2003, BG LNG Services signed a Sales and Purchase
Agreement with Nigeria LNG to acquire 2.5 million tonnes per
annum for 20 years for shipment to the Lake Charles import
terminal in Louisiana. The first LNG shipment from Nigeria
LNG to Lake Charles departed in January 2006.
BG Group is a global natural gas business. Active on five
continents in over 20 countries, it operates four business
segments – Exploration and Production, LNG, Transmission
and Distribution and Power.
Enquiries:
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Investor Relations
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