Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK --Venture Production has completed an appraisal well on the Agatha field in the southern North Sea, and the result has fallen below expectations. The test flow rate of 2 MMcf/d of natural gas does not justify a standalone development.

The well has been suspended pending the results of exploration drilling this summer on the nearby Agatha structure, in light of plans for a joint subsea development. The jackupNoble Julie Roberston will start work on Agatha after completing an exploration well on the Channon prospect.

Another Noble rig under contract to Venture, theNoble Ton van Langeveld, is currently in dry dock at Keppel Verolme in Rotterdam undergoing maintenance and installation of new cranes. It will drill four appraisal wells for the company, including one on the heavy oil discovery Narwhal. Here a recent electromagnetic resistivity survey over a 24-km (14.92-mi) long area confirmed the presence of an oil anomaly updip from the original discovery well.

5/28/2007