Noble Energy Donates $500,000 Toward New Petroleum Engineering Building

GOLDEN, Colo., March 20, 2007 – A $500,000 gift from Noble Energy, Inc. to Colorado School of Mines will support construction of Marquez Hall, the new petroleum engineering building planned at the School.

Ted Brown, Noble Energy's vice president, northern region, said, “All of us in the state are proud of Colorado School of Mines, which is one of the premier universities in the United States. It provides an outstanding education and plays an important part in preparing young people for a career in the energy industry. This donation reflects Noble Energy's commitment to the local community, our support for higher education in the state of Colorado and our desire to contribute to the School's continuing success.”

The 75,000 square-foot facility will accommodate the Petroleum Engineering Department's growing enrollment and expanding research initiatives. Mines' Petroleum Engineering Department is one of the largest in the country, with more than 380 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in its degree programs. The department is known worldwide for its interdisciplinary approach to educating petroleum engineers and its expertise in developing innovative methods for resource recovery.

A state-of-the-art visualization laboratory will form the centerpiece of the facility. Visualization technology will enable multi-dimensional, real-time images of exploration, drilling and production operations to be transmitted to Mines' campus in Golden, essentially eliminating the geographic barriers between field work, education and research.

The School is currently engaged in a campaign to raise $40 million to secure funding for the building and endowments for operations and scholarships.

“This significant gift from Noble Energy will help sustain our leadership in petroleum engineering,” said Mines President M.W. (Bill) Scoggins. “The construction of Marquez Hall is instrumental to educating the next generation of petroleum engineers and developing cutting-edge technologies for the energy industry. We are privileged to have such strong support from Noble Energy for this critical project.”

Noble Energy is one of the nation's leading independent energy companies and operates throughout major basins in the United States including Colorado's Wattenberg Field, the Mid-continent region of western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico, the Gulf Coast and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Noble Energy operates internationally in Argentina, China, Ecuador, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, West Africa and Suriname. Noble Energy markets natural gas and crude oil through its subsidiary, Noble Energy Marketing, Inc. Visit Noble Energy online at http://www.nobleenergyinc.com.