Nexen announces that it has made a discovery in the UK North Sea at Blackbird located on Block 20/2a, six kilometres south of our operated Ettrick field. The well encountered 111 feet of net pay in multiple zones, was drill-stem tested and flowed at an average restricted rate of 3,800 bopd through a 34/64 inch choke. Analysis indicates high quality crude oil in good quality reservoir sands. The well has been suspended for use as a production well, while work progresses to fast track development as a sub-sea tie-back to the nearby Ettrick floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Nexen is operator of the Blackbird well with a 79.73% working interest. Other co-venturers include Bow Valley Energy Ltd. (TSX:BVX) (12%) and Atlantic Petroleum (FO:ALTA) (8.27%).

"Our North Sea strategy is delivering value for shareholders," commented Charlie Fischer, Nexen's President and CEO. "Satellite discoveries such as Blackbird allow for quick and cost effective tie-backs to existing infrastructure which generates incremental value."

Nexen Inc. is an independent, Canadian-based global energy company, listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol NXY. We are uniquely positioned for growth in the North Sea, Western Canada (including the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta and unconventional gas resource plays such as coalbed methane and shale gas), deep-water Gulf of Mexico, offshore West Africa and the Middle East. We add value for shareholders through successful full-cycle oil and gas exploration and development and leadership in ethics, integrity, governance and environmental protection.