Drilling Report

BP PLC
05 September 2002

BP MAKES FIRST ULTRA-DEEPWATER DISCOVERY OFFSHORE ANGOLA



Sonangol (Angola's State Oil Company) and BP today announced the 'Plutao' oil
discovery in the ultra-deepwater Block 31, offshore Angola. This is the second
exploration well BP has drilled in Block 31.



The well was tested at a maximum rate of 5,357 barrels a day (b/d) of oil
through a 48/64ths-inch choke. Further work will be needed to evaluate the full
extent of the Plutao discovery.



Block 31 and its operatorship was awarded in 1999 by Sonangol to BP with a
26.67% equity together with its partners Esso (25%), Sonangol (20%), Statoil
(13.33%), Marathon (10%) and TotalFinaElf (5%).



Plutao-1 was drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig, the Leiv
Eiriksson, in 2,020 metres water depth, some 175 kilometres off the Angolan
coast and reached a total depth of 4,100 metres below sea level. Plutao is 36
kilometres to the west of the Hungo-1 discovery in Block 15 (Esso operated, BP
26.67%).



Notes to Editors:



BP's involvement with Angola goes back to the mid 1970s. During the 1990s, BP
made very substantial investments in Angola's offshore oil and it is now an
important part of the company's upstream portfolio. BP has interests in four
blocks with operatorship of two.



Operatorship of Block 31 was awarded to BP Exploration (Angola) Limited in May
1999, and the company holds a 26.67% equity. BP's Block 31 partners are Esso
Exploration and Production Angola (Block 31) Limited, Sonangol, E.P. (20%),
Statoil Angola A.S., Marathon Petroleum Angola Block 31 Limited and EPA (Block
31) Ltd. (a member of the TotalFinaElf group of companies).  The Block covers an
area of 5,349 square kilometres and lies in water depths of between 1,500 and
2,500 metres.



BP also operates Block 18, in which it has a 50% equity (the other partner being
Shell). In Block 18 the Greater Plutonio Project is currently being progressed
through front end engineering and design (FEED).



BP's non-operated interests are:



Block 15 operated by Esso (BP 26.67 % equity) and Block 17 operated by
TotalFinaElf (BP 16.67% equity), which contains the Girassol field, which came
on stream in December 2001.





Further enquiries:



Toby Odone, BP Press Office, London: [phone]



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