Nova – Plan for Development and Operation

CAIRN ENERGY PLC ("Cairn" or "the company")

 

The enclosed announcement has been reported by Wintershall Nova AS (Operator) with regards to the Nova development (formerly Skarfjell) in which Cairn has a 20% working interest.

 

Enquiries to:

Analysts / Investors

David Nisbet, Corporate Affairs                                                       Tel: 0131 475 3000

 

Media

Linda Bain, Corporate Affairs                                                           Tel: 0131 475 3000

Cairn Energy PLC

 

Patrick Handley, David Litterick                                                       Tel: 0207 404 5959

Brunswick Group LLP

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Cairn is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn has discovered and developed oil and gas reserves in a variety of locations around the world.

Cairn's business operations are now focused on frontier exploration acreage in North West Europe, North West Africa and the North Atlantic, underpinned by interests in development assets in the North Sea.

For further information on Cairn please see: www.cairnenergy.com

Wintershall submits Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Nova field

• Own-operated development enters execution phase
• Start-up planned for 2021 with investments of NOK 9.9 billion
• Subsea expertise: Tie-back to Gjøa as cost-efficient development solution

Oslo. Wintershall has together with its partners Capricorn, Spirit Energy, Edison and DEA submitted the Plan for Development and Operation for its operated North Sea Nova field (formerly Skarfjell) to the Norwe-gian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The milestone comes on the back of the successful development of Wintershall’s Maria field which the company brought into production in December 2017. Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Norge Managing Director, today handed the Nova document to the Norwegian Minister of Petro-leum and Energy, Terje Søviknes. It is the first PDO on the Norwegian Continental Shelf submitted in 2018.

Martin Bachmann, Wintershall Member of the Board of Executive Directors, commented: “This is another proud day for Wintershall Norge. With the Nova investment decision, we demonstrate our commitment to Norway. After Maria, Nova is an important landmark showing that we are prepared to take promising Norwe-gian assets through the whole lifecycle from discovery to development and into production. We believe in Norway and we continue to invest in high quality projects that will return value to us, our partners, our share-holders and the whole of Norwegian society.”

Smart engineering solutions – sustainable development in the North Sea

Nova will be developed as a subsea tie-back connecting two templates to the nearby Gjøa platform for pro-cessing and export. Gjøa will also provide lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support. Power for the Nova field comes via the Gjøa platform from shore.

“As well as selecting the most economically robust solution for developing the Nova field, utilising existing infrastructure is the most environmentally friendly solution. We have a proven track record of using smart engineering to achieve our goals, and we are on that same path with Nova. Alongside our Maria and Vega fields, this latest development positions Wintershall Norge as an expert in subsea technology,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf.

Total investments (CAPEX) in the Nova development are estimated at around NOK 9.9 billion. Recoverable reserves on the field are estimated around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), of which the majority is oil. Pending final approval by the Norwegian authorities, the license partnership now enters the execution phase of the development, constructing the field ahead of planned start up in 2021.

 
Track record of strong project management

Nova will be Wintershall Norge’s third operated subsea field. In December 2017, the company delivered the Maria field in the Norwegian Sea below budget and almost a year ahead of schedule.

“We aim to continue to deliver our projects on time and to budget, with good HSE results. We have assem-bled an experienced team which has a wealth of expertise in the field and we are working with an excellent Norwegian supply chain,” said André Hesse, Wintershall Norge Head of the Nova Project.

Nova was discovered in 2012 and is situated in the northeastern North Sea approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Neptune-operated Gjøa platform and about 120 kilometers northwest of Bergen. Located in the so-called “Quadrant 35”, Nova profits from this region’s rich infrastructure. Here Wintershall is already operator of the nearby subsea Vega field, as well as a partner in Gjøa.

The Nova field is principally located in production license PL 418. Wintershall Norge AS (operator) owns 35 percent, Capricorn Norge AS (part of Cairn Energy PLC) 20 percent, Spirit Energy 20 percent, Edison Norge AS 15 percent and DEA Norge AS 10 percent.