Noble Energy And BG Agree To Partnership In Block 12 Offshore Cyprus

(RTTNews) - Noble Energy, Inc. (NBL) announced today a farm-out agreement for a portion of its interest in Block 12 offshore Cyprus with BG International. BG is acquiring a 35 percent interest in Block 12, which includes the Aphrodite natural gas discovery, for total cash consideration of $165 million. Aphrodite, discovered in 2011, has gross mean natural gas resources of approximately four trillion cubic feet.

The transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2015, and is expected to close before the end of 2015. Noble Energy will maintain operatorship of Block 12 with a 35 percent interest.

In addition to this transaction, Noble Energy announced the sale of its 47 percent interest in the Alon A and Alon C licenses offshore Israel, which include the Tanin and Karish fields, to the Delek Group for a total deal value of $73 million. The divestment of interest in these assets is an important step in fulfilling Noble Energy's obligations under the recently-approved Regulatory Framework in Israel and will simplify the ultimate sale of Tanin and Karish to a third party.

Completion of both transactions are subject to certain regulatory approvals as well as customary closing conditions and adjustments.