The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board has revised its estimates of Recoverable Reserves/Resources for the Hibernia Field and the Hebron complex.

The new estimates for the Hibernia Field are based on information from drilling and production activity since the last revision of Hibernia resource estimates in 2003. The Proven and Probable Oil Reserves are now estimated at 1.244 billion barrels, an increase of 379 million barrels. As of December 31 2005 a total of 456 million barrels of oil had been produced at Hibernia since 1998, leaving 788 million barrels remaining in the Field.

The Hebron complex, which includes the Hebron, Ben Nevis, and West Ben Nevis fields, is now estimated to have 731 million barrels of Proven and Probable Oil Resources, an increase of 317 million barrels based on the Board’s latest geologic, petrophysical and reservoir simulation studies.

The combined increases bring the total of Oil Reserves/Resources in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area to 2.751 billion barrels, an increase of 696 million barrels over previous estimates.

Estimates of Gas Resources in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area also increased from 9.646 to 10.234 tcf (trillion cubic feet), and Natural Gas Liquids rose from 436 to 478 million barrels. The new estimates of petroleum reserves/resources will be published in the C-NLOPB Annual Report for 2005-2006, scheduled to be released within the next two weeks. (See Attachment: Reserves/Resources Table)

The release of the revised estimates is the latest product of an updating program which began in 1999, when the C-NLOPB initiated a comprehensive review of its annual resource estimates taking into account data acquired in exploration and production activities. Revised estimates for the White Rose Field were released in June 2001, and for the Terra Nova Field in May 2004.

Sources:
Fred Way
Acting Chair/CEO

Wayne Chipman
Manager,
Resource Management

Media Inquiries:
Edsel Bonnell
Public Relations
(709) 778-1418