E.ON has encountered gas on the UK Tolmount prospect. The discovery is located in Block 42/28d in the UK Southern North Sea to the west of the E.ON-operated Babbage gas field.

"We are pleased to announce a successful UK gas discovery. This result is another important step for our upstream business," said Frank Sivertsen, CEO of E.ON E&P (Exploration & Production). The Tolmount licence is operated by E.ON with Dana Petroleum E&P, a wholly owned subsidiary of Korea National Oil Company, as partner. Both companies have 50 percent in the licence.

"The success in the Tolmount prospect highlights E.ON’s commitment to investing in E&P. The Tolmount well results are very encouraging and will be incorporated into ongoing studies to assess the optimum development strategy for this discovery," commented Felix Lerch, Managing Director of E.ON E&P in the UK. The well targeted the Permian Leman Sandstone Formation and encountered a gas column in excess of 200 feet. The well test flowed at a maximum stable rate of 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

"E&P is a growth segment within E.ON. We are now active in four regions, the UK, Norway, Russia, and North Africa. In recent years we have been increasingly successful in projects where we are the operator," said Sivertsen.

E.ON started its E&P activities in 2003 and has developed into a strong and growing business. In 2010, E.ON E&P produced 8.6 billion cubic metres of oil and gas. Production will rise significantly in coming years as further fields come on stream.