Internationally, Buzzard has been a huge success for Nexen. Offshore West Africa, the Usan development is well underway with first production expected in 2012. Where else do you expect to see growth in Nexen’s international operations?

 Buzzard is clearly a legacy asset that continues to grow and exceed our initial expectations from when we acquired it. For example, we have increased our proved reserves by almost 50% and extended our production plateau by over three years. Our strategy is to grow production in the UK North Sea with smaller discoveries near existing infrastructure. This strategy is proving to be successful. Our next major development project is likely the Golden Eagle area. This area includes discoveries at Golden Eagle, Pink and Hobby, and we expect to drill our Lily prospect next. Plans to fast-track development of this area are also underway. And we are leveraging our knowledge of the North Sea basin into the Norwegian sector. We have ten offshore licenses there with plans to drill our first exploration well in the near future.

Usan has allowed us to establish an exploration and production presence offshore West Africa. Besides the world-class discovery at Usan, we have captured significant surrounding exploration acreage and already made two smaller discoveries. This area has the potential to repeat the success of Yemen and Buzzard, and allow us to grow production here.

On the international stage, we are as good as anyone. We have an ability to select world-class projects, work with international governments and operate a geographically diverse portfolio. For example, we successfully pre-qualified for future oil and gas opportunities in Iraq. When we operate in any country, we take the concept of a ‘Social License to Operate’ very seriously. We recognize we are guests of the host nation and work to be a welcomed partner. Whether through the drill bit or a timely acquisition, we believe we can continue growing our international production.