Yahoo.com Shell NZ Says Sells Pohokura Gas To NGC Holdings -2-

Monday May 24 2004

WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Shell New Zealand Ltd., a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell (RD), Monday said it has signed a long-term contract to supply NGC Holdings Ltd. (NGC.NZ) with gas from the offshore Pohokura field.

The agreement with NGC Holdings follows Shell's statement Friday that it had sold Pohokura gas to Contact Energy Ltd. (CEN.NZ), Genesis Power Ltd. (GPW.YY), and Multi Gas NZ Ltd.

The contract with NGC couldn't be revealed Friday because legal issues were still being sorted out.

The gas sales to NGC are a mixture of definite and conditional commitments from commencement of field production, which is expected in mid-2006 through to 2010, Shell said in a statement.

The deal with NGC also encompasses the supply of gas from the smaller Kapuni field in settlement of an indemnity agreement from 1992.

Shell said the agreement with NGC means it has completed its efforts to secure "foundation" customers for Pohokura gas.

Shell owns 48% of the Pohokura field, which is offshore Taranaki on the west coast of the North Island. OMV NZ Ltd., a unit of Austria's OMV AG (OMV.VI), and local energy investor Todd Ltd. each own 26%.

The field's reserves are estimated around 900 billion cubic feet of gas

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/040524/15/3kiqm.html