Faroe Petroleum Plc Regulatory News (FPM)

23 Feb 2006 10:20

Faroe Petroleum PLC23 February 2006 23 February 2006 Faroe Petroleum plc ("Faroe Petroleum" or "the Company") Entry into Norway Faroe Petroleum, the AIM quoted oil and gas company focusing on portfolioexploration, appraisal and undeveloped field opportunities in the AtlanticMargin and the North Sea, is pleased to announce its entry into the Norwegianoil and gas market. The Company has secured a first-rate team of highlyexperienced professionals, and has opened offices in Stavanger, Norway. The Company's decision to enter Norway relates principally to the country's vastpotential for finding new resources, its outstanding exploration success rateand the fact that it remains an under-explored province. Norway has alsorecently implemented a very favourable tax structure designed to incentiviseexploration. The new Norway team, all of whom have worked together for several years on theNorwegian Continental Shelf, has an outstanding track record built up withseveral oil companies in Norway, including Enterprise, Paladin, Shell andStatoil. The team was previously responsible for creating a high valueportfolio of exploration, development and production assets in Norway, and givesFaroe Petroleum an excellent opportunity to expand rapidly its portfolio intoNorway. Heading up our Norway operation as Country Manager is Mr Helge Hammer. MrHammer, who has 19 years of experience in the international upstream oil and gasindustry including 14 years with Shell, joins Faroe Petroleum from PaladinResources where he was Deputy Managing Director, Norway. Mr Andrew Roberts hasbeen appointed Exploration Manager for Norway, also joining us from PaladinResources. Mr Roberts is a highly regarded geophysicist with a specialisationin 4D seismic interpretation. Mr Hammer and Mr Roberts will lead our Norwayteam, which will work closely with our UK and Faroes sub-surface and commercialteams in building a strong and complimentary business portfolio in Norway. Key Norway Highlights • Norway ranks as the world's third largest exporter of oil and gas • Oil production (including Natural Gas Liquids and condensate) standsat approximately 3 million barrels per day and net gas production exceeds 2.5trillion cubic feet per year • The first exploration well was drilled in 1966 and only 1,063exploration wells have been drilled, proving 60 billion barrels of oilequivalent (boe) of recoverable resources • The average technical discovery rate is approximately 40% • The mean estimate for the undiscovered resources in Norway is 21billion boe of recoverable resources, equivalent to the quantity that has beenproduced to date Graham Stewart, chief executive of Faroe Petroleum commented: "Our decision to enter Norway is a natural progression for Faroe Petroleum. Thecombination of our excellent knowledge of Norway and our good relationships withmany significant Norway-focused oil companies greatly enhances our potential tobuild a strong position in the country. We are particularly pleased to haveattracted such a competent and established Norway based team, with anexceptional reputation and track record. This achievement demonstrates both thenew team's belief in our business model and our commitment to extend ouractivities onto the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Mr Hammer's considerableexperience in the Norwegian oil and gas sector coupled with his leadershipskills will be instrumental as we extend our strategy of portfolio explorationand appraisal into Norway. "As our planned drilling activity draws near, our new business in Norwayrepresents an excellent opportunity to further grow and balance our portfolio,and is an important step forward in our goal to create significant value forshareholders." - Ends - For further information, call: Graham Stewart, Faroe Petroleum plc 01224 652 810 Billy Clegg/Edward Westropp, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange