North Sea Project Involving Nippon Oil Starts Moving

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Pres)–Nippon Oil Corp. said Wednesday construction of production facilities has begun at the Blane oil field in the North Sea, for which the Japanese company has concession rights though a subsidiary.

The Blane oil field is located some 180 kilometers off Britain’s Aberdeen, and lies on the median line between the British and Norwegian coastlines. Production will start in late 2006, with peak production expected at a daily 14,000 barrels.

Nippon North Sea Oil Co., a fifty-fifty joint venture between Nippon Oil Exploration Ltd., an oil developer of the Nippon Oil group, and the Japanese government, has 14.0 pct concession rights to the oil field, the third largest among six firms involved in the project.

Total costs to develop the oil field are estimated at 33 billion yen.

The construction work began after the British and Norwegian governments approved the plan to develop the oil field.END