Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiko Tembo) announced today that its subsidiary, Idemitsu Snorre Oil Development, Co., Ltd.* (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Osamu Kamimae), has agreed, through its Norwegian subsidiary Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (IPN; President: Kosuke Tsuji), to acquisition of a 15% interest in the exploration block in Norwegian territorial waters in the North Sea owned by Eni Norge, Norwegian subsidiary of Eni S.p.A. (Italy).
* Shareholders: Idemitsu Oil and Gas Co., Ltd. (50.5%), Osaka Gas Summit Resources (49.5%)
The acquired Block PL293 is located in the North Sea, where the Snorre and Fram blocks where crude oil production is currently being carried out by Idemitsu Petroleum Norge are also located, and this location near oil and gas fields where production is already underway, leads to expectations of the discovery of new oil and gas fields. Test drilling in the block is scheduled to commence in the last quarter of FY2007.
Overview of Blocks
| Block Number | PL293 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Approximately 60 km southeast of the Snorre block and 30 km northwest of the Fram block | ||
| Participating Interests | Before acquisition | After acquisition | |
| Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (IPN) | -- | 15% | |
| Eni (Italy) (Eni Norge) | 60% | 45% | |
| Statoil (Norway) (Statoil) | 40% | 40% | |
| Size of Area | 1,067km2 | ||
| Water Depth | 370m | ||
New Window Open<Reference> Location map of acquired area (PDF: 176KB)
