Noble Energy Announces Farm-In Agreement Expanding West Africa Exploration Portfolio

HOUSTON, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) announced today that it has joined a venture that is exploring the AGC Profond block located offshore Senegal and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. The AGC Profond block, covering more than two million gross acres in water depths up to 11,500 feet, is in a designated cooperation area between the two countries. The venture has identified a number of prospects and leads on the acreage. Approximately 45 percent of the block is covered by existing 3D seismic.

The first target to be drilled is the Kora prospect in the northern part of the block, nearly 65 miles offshore in approximately 8,600 feet of water. The Kora prospect has a Cretaceous oil target with gross resources estimated at 450 million barrels of oil equivalent. The chance of success at the prospect is estimated by Noble Energy to be 20 percent. Total well depth is planned to be approximately 15,200 feet. Drilling is anticipated to begin in late June 2011 utilizing the Maersk Deliverer rig, with results expected by the end of August 2011.  

David L. Stover, Noble Energy's President and COO, commented, "We are pleased to be adding this new exploration area to the portfolio. Offshore West Africa is a region where the industry has had numerous recent exploration successes, including our own offshore Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. The AGC Profond block is an area that has not previously been explored and we believe it has significant oil potential. Our new ventures team did a great job of capturing this opportunity for Noble Energy, expanding our already large exploration inventory."

Ophir AGC Profond Ld. ("Ophir") will operate the Kora-1 exploration well and, in the event of a discovery, Noble Energy will become the operator for appraisal and development activities. Noble Energy has a 30 percent working interest. Other interest owners are Ophir with 36.7 percent, Rocksource AGC Profond AS with 12.5 percent, and FAR Ltd. with 8.8 percent. The remaining interest is held by L'Entreprise, the AGC state-owned entity, with 12 percent.

A map of the AGC Profond block will be available on Noble Energy's website.

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, in the deepwater 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 includes projections and other "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such projections and statements reflect Noble Energy's current views about future events and financial performance. No assurances can be given that such events or performance will occur as projected, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected include, without limitation, the volatility in commodity prices for crude oil and natural gas, the presence or recoverability of estimated reserves, drilling and operating risks, exploration and development risks, government regulation or other action, the ability of management to execute its plans to meet its goals, competition, the ability to replace reserves, environmental risks and other risks inherent in Noble Energy's business that are detailed in its Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "will," "should," "may," and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Noble Energy assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information contained herein except as required by law.

Cautionary Note to Investors -- The Securities and Exchange Commission prohibits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, from disclosing estimates of oil or gas resources other than "reserves," as that term is defined by the SEC. We use certain terms in this news release, such as "gross resources," which describes quantities of oil and gas that may not meet the SEC's definitions of proved, probable and possible reserves, and which the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. These estimates are by their nature more speculative than estimates of proved reserves and accordingly are subject to substantially greater risk of being recovered by us. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures and risk factors in our Forms 10-K and 10-Q, File No. 1-07964, available from Noble Energy's offices or website, www.nobleenergyinc.com. These forms can also be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

SOURCE Noble Energy, Inc.