HOUSTON, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Energy,
Inc. (NYSE: NBL) today announced that it has acquired a 75
percent interest and operatorship of the PL001 License in the
North Falkland Basin from Argos Resources Limited. The PL001
License covers an area of nearly 285,000 gross acres and is located
to the northwest of the PL032 License, which includes the Sea Lion
oil discovery. Edison International SpA has obtained the
remaining 25 percent interest in the PL001 License. Noble
Energy and Edison will provide to Argos a 5 percent royalty
override from all hydrocarbon development on the license.
Noble Energy has identified the Rhea prospect as its initial
target on the PL001 License. Rhea is a Cretaceous-aged
stratigraphic trap prospect with multiple reservoir targets and
total estimated gross mean unrisked resources in excess of 250
million barrels of oil. Water depth at the anticipated
drilling location is approximately 1,550 feet, and the target total
well depth is 8,760 feet. Rhea is anticipated to commence
drilling in the third quarter of 2015 with Noble Energy's second
slot on the 2015 Falkland Islands drilling campaign.
The Company's initial operated Falkland Islands prospect, Humpback, is now
expected to commence drilling by early May 2015. Humpback,
located in the South Falkland Basin, is the first of multiple
stacked fan prospects clustered together in the Fitzroy sub-basin.
Humpback has estimated gross mean unrisked resources of more than
250 million barrels of oil, with the cluster of prospects in the
sub-basin totaling over one billion barrels of oil. The
Humpback well, located in a water depth of approximately 4,170
feet, is targeted to be drilled to a total depth of 17,550 feet.
Noble Energy's interest in the South Falkland Basin is 35
percent.
Susan M. Cunningham, Noble
Energy's Executive VP of Exploration and New Ventures, stated, "The
Rhea prospect diversifies our prospect inventory and upgrades our
chance of overall success, without changing our total capital
program for the year. This opportunity is in a proven
petroleum system and is a strong complement to the vast number of
remaining prospects on our acreage. Our Falkland Islands program, combined with our
exploration well in Cameroon, give
us the potential to discover substantial new resources through
exploration this year."
Noble Energy is a leading independent energy company engaged in
worldwide oil and gas exploration and production. The Company
has core operations onshore in the U.S., primarily in the DJ Basin
and Marcellus Shale, in the
Gulf of Mexico, offshore Eastern
Mediterranean, and offshore West
Africa. Noble Energy is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol NBL. Further
information is available at www.nobleenergyinc.com.
This news release contains certain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of federal securities law.
Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects,"
"intends," "will," "should," "may," and similar expressions
may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Noble
Energy' s current views about future events. They include estimates
of oil and natural gas reserves and resources, estimates of future
production, assumptions regarding future oil and natural gas
pricing, planned drilling activity, future results of operations,
projected cash flow and liquidity, business strategy and other
plans and objectives for future operations. No assurances can be
given that the forward-looking statements contained in this news
release will occur as projected, and actual results may differ
materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements are
based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. These risks
include, without limitation, the volatility in commodity prices for
crude oil and natural gas, the presence or recoverability of
estimated reserves, the ability to replace reserves, environmental
risks, drilling and operating risks, exploration and development
risks, competition, government regulation or other actions, the
ability of management to execute its plans to meet its goals and
other risks inherent in Noble Energy's business that are discussed
in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in other reports
on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports
are also available from Noble Energy's offices or website,
http://www.nobleenergyinc.com. Forward-looking statements
are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time
the statements are made. Noble Energy does not assume any
obligation to update forward-looking statements should
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires oil and gas
companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose proved
reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or
conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally
producible under existing economic and operating conditions. The
SEC permits the optional disclosure of probable and possible
reserves, however, we have not disclosed the Company's probable and
possible reserves in our filings with the SEC. We use certain terms
in this news release, such as "estimated gross mean unrisked
resources," which are by their nature more speculative than
estimates of proved, probable and possible reserves and accordingly
are subject to substantially greater risk of being actually
realized. The SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including
these estimates in filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to
consider closely the disclosures and risk factors in our most
recent annual report on Form 10-K and in other reports on file with
the SEC, available from Noble Energy's offices or website,
http://www.nobleenergyinc.com.
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SOURCE Noble Energy