Ivar Aasen and Asha Discoveries to be Jointly Developed

Anglo-Norwegian junior Bridge Energy reported Friday that it has signed an agreement that will see the joint development of the Ivar Aasen field and the Asha discovery, offshore Norway.

Bridge – which is a 20-percent license partner on production license 457, where Asha sits – said the agreement establishes an approach towards unitization of the discoveries and that the process is expected to be concluded by mid-2014. The deal, which Bridge said has been approved by all relevant license holders, will see the Asha discovery form an integral part of the proposed Ivar Aasen field development.

Approval for a plan to develop and operate (PDO) the Ivar Aasen field is expected to be granted by the end of June this year.

The PDO for Ivar Aasen proposes to install a steel legged platform, which will support dry wellheads and processing capacity. Hydrocarbons from Ivar Aasen will be then be exported via the Lundin operated Edward Grieg facilities. Field production start-up is planned for 2016.

Bridge's partners in PL457 include operator Wintershall Norge, which has a 40-percent stake, and VNG Norge and E.On Ruhrgas Norge.

Bridge CEO Tom Reynolds commented in a statement:

"I am pleased to announce this positive step forward on Asha, which clearly underlines the commerciality of this discovery; less than one month after our resource update and three months after drilling.

"With existing estimates indicating more than 13 million barrels of oil equivalent net recoverable to Bridge from Asha, this agreement both accelerates and unlocks significant value within PL457. In addition to the Asha discovery further upside potential exists on this licence within the independent Aglaja and Amol prospective targets."

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