OSLO, Norway, Nov. 29, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Norsk Hydro (NYSE:NHY):
Production from the Tune field started Thursday, November 28. The field, which has been developed with a subsea installation linked to the Oseberg Field Center, will produce three billion cubic meters of gas at plateau rate.
"The start-up of the Tune field is an important milestone for Hydro as a gas company. Production from Tune will considerably boost Hydro's gas production," said senior vice president Torgeir Kydland in Hydro Operations & Production Norway.
The Tune development consists of a template of four wells linked to the Oseberg Field Center. The total reserves in the Tune field amount to 22.9 billion cubic meters gas and 5.8 million cubic meters condensate. The total development costs for the whole Tune project are NOK 3.2 billion, including the drilling of production wells.
The gas volumes from Tune will be used for injection in Oseberg, thus making more Oseberg gas available for export. This will help to optimize utilization of the resources in the Oseberg field. Hydro's gas production will increase considerably from the present level of around 7 billion cubic meters per year to 12-14 billion cubic meters per year towards the end of the decade. Tune is an important field in this connection, and production from Tune will represent around 15 percent of Hydro's total gas prodcution in 2003.
The Tune field was found through an exploration well in 1995 and confirmed by an appraisal well in 1996. Production start on Tune is therefore only six years after the find was confirmed.
The Tune partnership originally decided to lay chrome steel pipelines between Tune and Oseberg, with the aim of reducing the use of anti-corrosion chemicals and thus lessening the environmental impact of the project. However, due to problems with leakage from the pipelines, the partners decided in July 2002 to lay new pipelines in carbon steel. The additional costs in connection with replacing the pipelines are the object of an insurance claim, which has not yet been clarified.
The partners in the Tune field: Hydro (operator) - 40 percent Petoro - 40 percent TotalFinaElf - 20 percent
Certain statements in this press release are or may constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not in the nature of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and may contain identifying words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on Hydro's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the company and the industries in which it engages in business. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. For a detailed description of factors that could cause Hydro's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements, please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for the year-ended December 31, 2001 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.