Petro-Canada to buy interest in North Sea Buzzard field

Petro-Canada, Calgary, agreed to acquire 29.9% interest in the Buzzard oil field in the UK North Sea through the purchase of Intrepid Energy North Sea Ltd. for $840 million.

June 1, 2004

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, June 1 -- Petro-Canada, Calgary, agreed to acquire 29.9% interest in the Buzzard oil field in the UK North Sea through the purchase of Intrepid Energy North Sea Ltd. for $840 million.

Buzzard, 100 km northeast of Aberdeen, is under development with first oil expected in 2006. It's the largest UK North Sea oil discovery in over a decade. Petro-Canada's share of peak production is expected to average 60,000 b/d.

Intrepid Energy's major asset is its working interest in Buzzard. Adjacent acreage with exploration potential is included in the transaction. The field's oil in place is estimated at1.2 billion bbl. Petro-Canada estimates recovery will be 550 million bbl. Buzzard is operated by EnCana (U.K.) Ltd.