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BP & Maersk Oil Approve Front End Engineering & Design for Harding Area Gas Project


WEBWIRE –

13 July 2006, BP and its partner, Maersk Oil North Sea UK Limited, today announced the approval of FEED (Front End Engineering and Design) for the Harding Area Gas Project. This is the first stage of a development project to allow the production of gas from the Harding area and prolong the life of the field beyond 2015.

The project, which comprises a new gas processing platform bridge-linked to the existing Harding platform, will have the potential to process and export gas at rates of up to 400 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd). The project would also involve the subsea tie-back of the Devenick field and a gas export pipeline to connect the new gas platform to the existing Brae gas transmission pipeline.

The final project approval decision is expected to be made around the end of the year.

The FEED contractors are AMEC, JP Kenny and Production Services Network. The value of the FEED work will be around £8.4 million ($15 million) and work is expected to be complete at the end of 2006.

Gordon Birrell, Director and Business Unit Leader for BP’s North Sea business,said; “The development of the Harding Area Gas Project would not only help maximise the recovery of gas from the North Sea, but also extend the life of the Harding field beyond 2015. This would be an exciting new project for BP and the North Sea.”
Notes to Editors

* The Harding field partners are BP (70% and Operator) and Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd (30%).The Harding field currently produces oil at around 30,000 barrels per day and also includes a substantial undeveloped gas resource.
* The Harding field is located 200 miles north-east of Aberdeen in BP-operated block 9/23b, in water depths of 360 feet.
* Harding was discovered in 1987 and has been producing oil since 1996.
* Devenick, which was discovered in 1983, is a high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) gas discovery. Partners in Devenick are BP (Operator) and RWE Dea UK.
* Maersk Olie Og Gas As (Maersk Oil) is a privately owned Danish company and part of the A.P.Moller – Maersk Group. Active since 1962, Maersk Oil operates some 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent in Denmark, UK, Kazakhstan and Qatar. In addition, Maersk Oil is active in several other countries including Algeria, Brazil and Angola. Maersk Oil North Sea UK is the main operator on Janice, Gryphon, Leadon, Tullich and Dumbarton.

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