Repsol has made a discovery during the 9/18�-28 drilling in the Buckland field, located in the British sector of the North Sea, at 210 miles to the north east of Aberdeen. This discovery confirms the prolongation of the Buckland field in its southern extreme, adding new reserves to the field�s total reserves.

The consortium owning the block, in which Repsol has a 33.33% stake, is formed by Conoco (operating company, with a 39.83% stake) and Mobil (26.83%).

The first drilling was made using the Borgsten Dolphin semi-submergible platform and reached a depth of 3,690 meters. During the production tests, the well produced 4,265 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 4.4 million cubic feet of gas per day in the sandstones of the Beryl Formation.

The proposal to develop this field was presented to the British Department of Commerce and Industry this past April. At present, the development of the Buckland field has ended and it is now foreseen to initiate in a brief period of time the development and production of the discovered reserves. It is estimated that the first production can begin in 1998.

Repsol has developed exploration and production activities in the United Kingdom since 1976, participating in different fields along the British continental platform, including the Harding and Buckland fields. The Harding field - situated in the 9/23 B block in British waters of the North Sea, at 320 kilometers to the north east of Aberdeen -, and in which Repsol holds a 25% stake, began production in April 1996.