Norsk Hydro Wins First Operatorship in Gulf of Mexico

Norsk Hydro USA Oil & Gas, Inc. has been approved by the Minerals Management Service, as operator of the Champlain field, Atwater Valley Block 63. Hydro has acquired a 57.5% interest in this block through recent acquisitions.

Champlain was discovered in 2000, and has been appraised with three additional wells. Atwater Valley Block 63 is located in 4,300 feet of water in Central Gulf of Mexico.

As the new operator, Hydro has selected a new name for the project, "Telemark", a reference to the birthplace of Norsk Hydro 100 years ago.

A project team has been formed, and will be located in Hydro's office in Houston, Texas. The project is currently in the preliminary engineering design phase of development.

Telemark will be the first Hydro operated development project in the Gulf of Mexico.