In the Awards in Predefined Areas 2012 (APA 2012), the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered RWE Dea Norge two new production licences, one of which is an operatorship.
New Production Licences: PL694 and PL682

RWE Dea Norge will become operator of a new production licence (PL) with a 40% share, PL694. This increases the company's total number of operatorships to seven on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The new production licence is located in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea and in the same area as the company's operated licences PL330, PL653 and PL654. The award supports RWE Dea Norge's long term strategy to build a strong portfolio in this area, which the company views as very promising.

RWE Dea Norge has also been awarded a 20% share in PL682 in the northern part of the North Sea. This licence is situated in another area where the company has a solid foothold through its operatorship of PL420 with the Titan discovery and as partner in the Gjøa field and PL418 (Skarfjell prospect).

"We are very pleased with the APA 2012 awards, and like in the previous years we interpret it as a vote of confidence from the authorities," says Hans-Joachim Polk, Managing Director of RWE Dea Norge. "With these new licences we will strengthen our position in two of our core areas, whilst also consolidating and further developing our standing as a long term player in Norway," Polk adds.

After a successful year 2012 with several discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, also 2013 will be very active for RWE Dea Norge. In addition to drilling two wells in the Titan area (PL 420), the company is going ahead with an exploration well at the PL330 licence in the Norwegian Sea, as well as taking important steps in the development of the Zidane field.

Awards in Predefined Areas is the annual licensing round for award of licences in mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The APA system was established in 2003. This year, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is offering shares in 51 new production licences to 40 companies.

Contacts
Carolin Flemming
Head of External Communications
T +49 40 6375-2484
M +49 162 2732484

Frank Meyer
Manager External Communications
T +49 40 6375-2759
M +49 162 2732559

Notes to the editors
RWE Dea Norge AS is a subsidiary of the German oil and gas company RWE Dea AG. The company has a promising licence portfolio consisting of 42 licences with assets in all major phases and ownership interests in several producing fields, such as Snorre, Gjøa and Snøhvit. RWE Dea Norge has participated in three of the most important recent discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf, Edvard Grieg, Knarr and Skarfjell. The company is operator of seven licences in the exploration phase, and on two of these licences, Zidane and Titan, discoveries were made in 2010, and again on Zidane in 2012. RWE Dea Norge has been present on the Norwegian continental shelf for almost 40 years and operator since 1991.

RWE Dea AG, headquartered in Hamburg, is an international company operating in the field of exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil. The company deploys state-of-the-art drilling and production technologies, putting its many years' experience acquired to good use. RWE Dea has set new standards in the fields of safety and environmental protection.

RWE Dea has stakes in production facilities and concessions in Germany, the UK, Norway, Denmark and Egypt and holds exploration concessions in Algeria, Ireland, Libya, Mauretania, Poland, Trinidad & Tobago and Turkmenistan. Moreover, in Germany, RWE Dea also operates large subterranean storage facilities for natural gas. RWE Dea is part of the RWE Group, one of Europe's largest energy utilities.

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