2009-08-05-2009-08-01

To buy 40% WI in North Sea License 028 in Balder/Grane area.

Stavenger, Norway-based Aker Exploration has reached an agreement with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS to acquire a 40% share of a prospect in License 028 in the North Sea. The agreement is conditional upon Aker Exploration operating an exploration well on behalf of ExxonMobil. The semi-submersible drilling rig Aker Barents will be used for the well which is expected to commence near the end of the year. "We are strengthening our position in the Balder/Grane area where Aker Exploration already has existing exploration activity. The prospect is near infrastructure and within a proven hydrocarbon province," says BÃ¥rd Johansen, president and CEO of Aker Exploration. Aker Exploration will acquire a 40% share as a stratigraphic carve-out below the Base Cretaceous in return for carrying the costs of drilling one exploration well and a possible sidetrack. The carved out area will become a separate license, PL 028S. Johansen says the transaction shows the merit of the "Rig for Oil" concept. Aker Exploration now has interests in 22 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.