BHP Billiton Petroleum (NYSE:BHP) (NYSE:BBL) announced today that it has
acquired exploration rights to an onshore block of approximately
7,750,000 acres in the Llanos Basin, Colombia. The Company signed a
Technical Evaluation Agreement with the Agencia Nacional de
Hidrocarburos (ANH) to explore block CPE-5.
“We are extremely pleased with this result,”
said Steve O’Rourke, President Exploration,
BHP Billiton Petroleum. “The Colombian
government ran a very successful bid round and the Agencia Nacional de
Hidrocarburos recognized that this type of frontier exploration requires
access to large acreage tracts. We look forward to extending the known
limits of the highly prolific Llanos basin over the next three years.”
BHP Billiton holds a 71.4 percent interest in the block and is the
operator. SK Energy, the petroleum exploration and production affiliate
of South Korea’s third largest conglomerate,
holds the remaining 28.6 percent. The Technical Evaluation Agreement is
based on an exploration program to be undertaken by the Company over a
three year period. It includes seismic acquisition and processing and
exploration drilling.
BHP Billiton is currently exploring two offshore blocks, Fuerte Norte
and Fuerte Sur, in Colombia’s Caribbean
Sector. The Company holds a 75 percent interest in each block and is the
operator. BHP Billiton has had a long-standing relationship with the
resources industry in Colombia, producing energy coal from the Cerrejon
mine and nickel from Cerro Matoso S.A.
About BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is the world’s largest
diversified resources company, with a portfolio of high-quality,
long-life assets and a significant pipeline of growth projects. BHP
Billiton employs approximately 41,000 people at around 100 locations in
25 countries across the world. BHP Billiton Petroleum is a substantial
oil and gas exploration and production business. Its principal
activities are oil and natural gas exploration, development, production
and marketing. For more information about BHP Billiton Petroleum go to:
http://petroleum.bhpbilliton.com.
Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our Internet site: www.bhpbilliton.com.
This document contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
the business, financial performance and results of the Company and/or
the industry in which it operates.
