West Africa

Noble Energy’s investments in West Africa began in the early 1990s and now represent one of the largest components of our international portfolio. Our production activities began with our 34 percent working interest in the Alba field, offshore Equatorial Guinea. In addition to natural gas and crude oil production, related operations include an LPG processing plant where liquids are recovered and a methanol plant. Natural gas produced from the field is sold to the LPG and methanol plants as well as a third-party LNG facility. Our first operated major project in West Africa, Aseng, came online in late 2011 and we expect to bring our next project, Alen, to production in late 2013.

We are actively engaged in both development and exploration activities offshore Equatorial Guinea, with operated working interests of 45 percent in Block O and 38 percent in Block I. We also have a 50 percent interest offshore Cameroon in the YoYo mining concession and Tilapia exploration block. Over the last few years, we have achieved tremendous exploration success in the region, discovering a combined 305 MMBoe, net to Noble Energy, in multiple oil and gas-condensate reservoirs. The lineup of exploration discoveries is set to deliver multi-year growth in production and cash flow for Noble Energy..

In 2009, we sanctioned the Aseng oil project (formerly Benita) in Block I and brought it to production in November 2011, seven months ahead of schedule. The newly constructed FPSO, a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, is capable of producing 80 MBbl/d of oil and 170 MMcf/d of natural gas. The initial production rate is 50 MBbl/d, 17 MBbl/d net to Noble Energy. Our next development in this area is a condensate gas-cycling project at Alen (formerly known as Belinda), which was sanctioned in 2010. We have a 47 percent interest at Alen and first production is estimated to occur in late 2013. Aseng and Alen combined will add over 35,000 barrels of daily liquid production, net to Noble Energy. We are also progressing additional liquid discoveries, as well as integrated gas monetization efforts for our natural gas discoveries. In early 2011, we announced a successful appraisal well in the Carmen - Diega area and are currently performing sidetrack operations to further understand the resource area. Adding to the momentum of the Diega find, we announced an oil discovery at Carla in the 4th quarter of 2011, located below the Alen field. Carla and Diega are being integrated into our development plans.