2010-01-07-2010-01-05-2010-03-01

Purchased 340,000 net acres with 80% in CO Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin Wattenberg Field, gaining 53 MMBOE proved, 10,000 BOE/d.

Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) plans to acquire substantially all of the Rockies upstream assets of Petro-Canada Resources (USA) Inc. and Suncor Energy (Natural Gas) America Inc. for $494 million.

The assets include 340,000 total net acres of which approximately 200,000 are in the Greater DJ Basin. Noble estimates total proved reserves to be 53 million barrels of oil equivalent (45% liquids), with 80% within Wattenberg Field, Noble Energy's largest onshore U.S. asset. Production is 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (46 million cubic feet of gas; 2,500 barrels of liquids).

Total proved, probable and possible resources are estimated at 103 million barrels of oil equivalent. Noble has identified several thousand projects associated with the assets, including more than 2,000 Codell/Niobrara drilling locations in Wattenberg. The company plans to add two rigs to its Wattenberg program in 2010 as a result of the transaction, increasing the Company's operated drilling activity in the field to eight rigs. Including activity on acreage outside Wattenberg, Noble Energy expects to grow net production from the assets to approximately 20,000 barrels equivalent per day by 2012, with a focus on increasing liquids contribution.

David L. Stover, Noble Energy president and COO, says, "The addition of complimentary drilling locations and opportunities in Wattenberg allows Noble Energy to continue to strengthen this core area. We now control a leasehold position of over 530,000 net acres in the central DJ Basin with net production approaching 52,000 barrels equivalent per day."

Closing is expected in the first quarter. Noble will use its existing credit facility to fund the deal. Noble Energy operates primarily in the Rocky Mountains, Micontinent and deepwater Gulf of Mexico as well as offshore Israel and West Africa.