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- Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
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Main Contents
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Shell Offshore Inc., ("Shell"), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc , to acquire 20% working interest of Shell's Kaikias and Circius 100% owned assets located in four blocks in the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico through Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. ("MOECO", a subsidiary of Mitsui in which Mitsui has 74.26% equity interest, Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO Mitsuo Hidaka).
The four blocks, encompassing 93km2, are located approximately 100 kilometers south-southeast of New Orleans, offshore Louisiana. Production of crude oil and gas would utilize the existing near field infrastructure, presenting opportunities for early commercialization at reduced development costs. The recoverable resources of the entire blocks are estimated to be over 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. In addition, there is further exploration potential within the blocks which may contribute to further build up the reserves and continue production over the long term. Together with Shell, Mitsui will continue to work through MOECO to ensure safe and reliable operations for the exploration and development.
Energy and mineral resources sector continues to be as one of Mitsui's core business areas. Mitsui's upstream energy business aims to achieve a portfolio of high quality low cost reserves and will continue to strengthen the competitiveness of its earnings base.
Outline of Agreement
| Buyer | MOEX North America LLC ("MOEX NA", wholly owned subsidiary of MOECO) |
|---|---|
| Seller | Shell Offshore Inc. (wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc) |
| Acquisition | 20% working interest in four blocks in the Gulf of Mexico MC-767 block ("Circius") , MC-768 block MC-811 block, MC-812 block (together "Kaikias") |
Asset Overview
| Asset | Outer Continental Shelf lease blocks in the Gulf of Mexico |
|---|---|
| Location | Approx. 100 kilometers south-southeast of New Orleans |
| Water Depth | Approx. 1,300m |
| Recoverable Resources | Over 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (Project 100%, Mitsui evaluation) |
Notice:
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Mitsui's current assumptions, expectations and beliefs in light of the information currently possessed by it and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause Mitsui's actual results, financial position or cash flows to be materially different from any future results, financial position or cash flows expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors referred to above include, but are not limited to, those contained in Mitsui's latest Annual Securities Report and Quarterly Securities Report, and Mitsui undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
This announcement is published in order to publicly announce specific facts stated above, and does not constitute a solicitation of investments or any similar act inside or outside of Japan, regarding the shares, bonds or other securities issued by us.