StatoilHydro To Operate Three Bahamas Oil Licenses

* MAY 18, 2009, 4:26 A.M. ET

StatoilHydro To Operate Three Bahamas Oil Licenses -Co

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Norwegian oil and gas company StatoilHydro ASA
(STL.OS) Monday said it has reached an agreement with BPC Ltd. (BPC.LN)
to operate three oil exploration licenses in the Cay Sal areas of the
Bahamas.

The licenses, called Zapata, Islamorada and Falcones, are located
offshore the southwestern Bahamas and fit with StatoilHydro's strategic
focus, building its position in the Caribbean region, the company said.

"Limited historic 2D seismic and satellite data indicate the presence of
several large structures in the license area," StatoilHydro said.

Global Exploration Vice President Erik Finnstrom said: "This is an
interesting frontier exploration opportunity which we can mature in a
cost-efficient manner."

Approval and award of the licenses by the Bahaman authorities is pending.

Fox-Davies Capital analysts said: "The involvement of a company of
StatoilHydro's stature gives a lot of credence to the prospectivity of
the area."

They said a recent report listed 18 leads in the region, each
potentially holding 500 million barrels of oil equivalents in reserves.

The analysts noted the three licenses are adjacent to other licenses
held by BPC in the Bahamas and also close to StatoilHydro's license in
Cuban waters.

StatoilHydro has an agreement with Cuba's state oil company Cupet,
Spain's Repsol and India's ONGC Videsh Ltd. on exploration and possible
production in an 11,300-square kilometer area offshore Cuba.

Company Web site: www.statoilhydro.com

-By Elizabeth Adams, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9386;
elizabeth.adams@dowjones.com

Article - WSJ.com (18 May 2009)

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090518-702530.html