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Nexen Announces First Quarter Results & Strong Progress on Strategic Priorities


News provided by

Nexen Inc.

25 Apr, 2012, 13:43 GMT

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CALGARY, Alberta, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Nexen Inc. (TSX: NXY) (NYSE: NXY) today reported first quarter 2012 operating and financial results and provided an update on strategic priorities.

Production volumes for the first quarter averaged 202,000 boe/d, which was around the midpoint of our expectations. We generated cash flow from operations of $670 million ($1.27/share), reflecting solid operational performance, our significant weighting to Brent-priced oil and strong cash netbacks. Net income was also strong at $171 million ($0.32/share).

We have made progress on several of our strategic priorities:

  • Long Lake bitumen production increased 10% from Q4 to 34,500 bbls/d (gross).
  • Steaming began at Long Lake pad 12 and we received regulatory approval for pads 14, 15 and Kinosis 1A.
  • Buzzard produced 190,000 boe/d (82,000 boe/d net to Nexen) and had a production efficiency rate of 86%.
  • We achieved first production from the Usan development, offshore West Africa.
  • We added 50 mmboe of net contingent resource from the northeast fault block at Appomattox.
  • Drilling commenced on the North Uist exploration well west of the Shetland Islands in the UK North Sea.

"We've had a strong start to the year," said Kevin Reinhart, Nexen's interim President & CEO. "We met our production guidance for the quarter due to progress at Long Lake, reliable performance at Buzzard and the start-up of Usan. We're making progress on our plans to fill the upgrader at Long Lake. Our drilling program is well underway with continued success at Appomattox and commencement of drilling at North Uist. These successes contributed to Nexen delivering strong financial results that will continue to grow with the ramp-up of Usan."

Operational Update

Conventional

Offshore West Africa - Oil production from Usan started in late February on block OML-138 in Nigeria. Since then, we have ramped-up to rates of over 100,000 bbls/d (20,000 bbls/d net to Nexen), consistent with expectations. There are 7 wells producing as of April 20; several more wells are expected to be brought on-stream over the coming months. Well performance and the pace of ramp-up are the primary variables that will affect production rates over the remainder of the year.

Our financial results do not include any contribution from Usan until oil sales start in the second quarter.

We expect to drill an exploration well at Owowo West on block OPL-223 later this year. This well is targeted to follow-up on our 2009 oil discovery at Owowo South B.

UK North Sea - We have seen improved reliability at our Buzzard field over the last several months. Production efficiency for the first quarter was 86%, consistent with the prior quarter and our 2012 target of 85% efficiency, excluding planned downtime.

We continue to drill in areas surrounding our existing infrastructure. At Buzzard, we plan to drill an appraisal well in the north terrace area. Our UK team is also evaluating potential tie-back targets near the Buzzard, Scott and Ettrick facilities.

At Rochelle, we are working towards our planned start-up date in December. Additional development drilling is planned for the summer. Rochelle is primarily a natural gas and condensate discovery which we plan to tie-in to the Scott platform. It is expected to produce approximately 5,000 boe/d net to Nexen once online. We expect to earn an attractive return on this project as UK gas prices continue to be strong.

The Golden Eagle development is progressing toward first production in late 2014. Work continues on the fabrication of the facilities, utilizing the same team that oversaw the construction of the Buzzard platforms. The work is proceeding on-time and on-budget.

Our exploration program in the UK North Sea has advanced with the start of drilling operations on the BP-operated North Uist prospect, an exploration well located west of the Shetland Islands. Nexen has a 35% interest in North Uist, where we expect to reach target depths this summer. We are also currently drilling the Stingray prospect, which is located to the northeast of the Scott platform.

Gulf of Mexico - At Appomattox, we have completed the resource evaluation of our successful appraisal drilling in the northeast fault block. Our best estimate of contingent resource is approximately 215 mmboe (50 mmboe net to Nexen), with a range of 120 to 370 mmboe (25 to 90 mmboe net to Nexen) of light oil. This resource is in addition to the 65 mmboe of probable reserves we booked from the south fault block in 2011.

We have a 20% interest in Appomattox and a 25% interest in Vicksburg and various other blocks in the area. The remaining interests are held by Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., who is the operator.

Nexen and Shell plan to conduct additional exploration and appraisal activity in the Appomattox area during 2012 and 2013. We are currently drilling an appraisal well in the south fault block to further define the existing resource. From that well, we plan to sidetrack into the northwest fault block to test another major part of the Appomattox structure. Following this, we expect to drill an exploration well on a structure located between Appomattox and our 2007 discovery at Vicksburg, and a subsequent sidetrack to further appraise the northeast fault block discovery.

Drilling operations are ongoing at Kakuna, a Nexen-operated exploration well in the central Gulf of Mexico. We expect to reach the main target reservoir section shortly and complete drilling operations in May.

Oil Sands

Long Lake - Our focus at Long Lake is on increasing production from our existing wells and adding more wells in good quality resource in order to fill the upgrader.

As we recently reported, our operations made strong progress in the first quarter. Total production increased 10% over the prior quarter; we averaged 34,500 bbls/d of gross bitumen at a steam-to-oil ratio (SOR) of 4.7.

Long Lake production continues to benefit from the well optimization initiatives we have undertaken on existing wells and from the ramp-up of pad 11, where recent rates of 5,700 bbls/d are trending toward the upper end of our expected range of 4,000 to 8,000 bbls/d.

Upgrader yield (PSC[TM] barrels per barrel of bitumen) in the first quarter was 75% and facility on-stream time was 86%. Per-barrel operating costs increased marginally due to the sale of inventory carried at a higher cost. Costs in the next two quarters are expected to increase as we prepare for and perform the scheduled turnaround in the third quarter of this year. Following the turnaround, we expect operating costs to decrease on a per-barrel basis as production increases. 

                      Long Lake Quarterly Operating Metrics
                                                             Cash     Realized
              Bitumen             Steam          Unit        Flow      Price
                                              Operating
         Production (Gross) Injection (Gross)  Cost[1]
              (bbls/d)          (bbls/d)       ($/bbl)   ($ millions) ($/bbl)
    2012
      Q1       34,500            163,000          69          18         94
    2011
      Q4       31,500            151,000          67          22         97
      Q3       29,500            144,000          85          (4)        94
      Q2       27,900            152,000          95           6        109
      Q1       25,500            146,000          89         (19)        90
    2010
      Q4       28,100            158,000          86          (9)        83
      Q3       25,700            146,000          85         (42)        71
      Q2       24,900            137,000          90         (19)        74
    [1] Unit operating costs and realized prices are before royalties and based
      on PSC(TM) and bitumen volumes sold and exclude activities related to
      third-party bitumen purchased, processed and sold. Unit operating cost
                              includes energy costs.


We are making good progress on our plans to fill the upgrader. Steaming on pad 12 started in March as planned and production is expected to begin this summer. Completion work is underway on pad 13 and steam injection is expected to begin mid-year. Bitumen production is expected to begin before the end of the year. Production from pads 12 and 13 is expected to ramp-up to full rates over an 18-24 month period.

We have also received the necessary regulatory approvals to proceed with the development of pads 14 and 15 at Long Lake as well as the Kinosis 1A project. Our winter 2011 core hole program has confirmed the high quality of resource in each of these areas. It has also allowed us to finalize the initial number of wells to be drilled in each area and to optimize the well layouts. 

Drilling is expected to commence on pads 14, 15 and Kinosis 1A later this year. Steam injection is expected on pads 14 and 15 in the second half of 2013, with Kinosis 1A following by mid-year 2014. Together with the existing producing wells, we anticipate these wells will allow us to fill the upgrader over the next few years:

                 Number of Wells Expected Rates
                                    (bbls/d)
    Pads 12 & 13       18        11,000 - 17,000
    Pads 14 & 15       11         4,000 - 7,000
     Kinosis 1A        29        15,000 - 25,000

"I am pleased with the quarter we had at Long Lake," said Reinhart. "We made progress on increasing production rates from the existing wells and pad 11 is trending toward the higher end of our expectations. Securing regulatory approvals for the remainder of our 60-well program was a major step towards adding more high-quality wells and filling the upgrader."

Nexen has a 65% working interest in both Long Lake and Kinosis and is the operator. The remaining 35% interest is held by CNOOC Canada Inc.

Shale Gas

Northeast British Columbia - Our previously announced joint venture agreement with INPEX and JGC is expected to close in the second quarter.

We continue to progress our 18-well pad in the Horn River toward first production in Q4 2012. We recently completed the drilling of the wells and the cost came in under budget; completions activity is scheduled for the next several months.

Production Summary

                            Average Daily Quarterly        Average Daily Quarterly
                          Production before Royalties    Production after Royalties
    Crude Oil, NGLs and
    Natural Gas (mboe/d)
                           Q1 2012   Q4 2011   Q1 2011    Q1 2012   Q4 2011   Q1 2011
    UK - Buzzard                82        80        71         82        80        71
    UK - Other                  29        22        32         28        22        32
    Canada - In Situ            22        21        17         21        19        16
    Canada - Oil & Gas          22        20        23         21        20        21
    Canada - Syncrude           21        18        23         19        16        22
    United States               16        18        26         15        18        23
    West Africa                  3         -         -          2         -         -
    Other Countries              7        29        40          4        18        22
    Total                      202       208       232        192       193       207
 

First quarter production decreased 3% from the prior quarter on a before-royalties basis and 1% on an after-royalties basis. The expiry of the Masila contract in Yemen in December 2011 was largely offset by higher rates in the UK and the start-up of Usan.

In the UK, our Blackbird tie-back came on-stream in November and production rates have met our expectations. A full quarter of Blackbird production and Telford coming back on-stream contributed to an increase in UK production compared to the prior quarter.

Guidance Update

Our first quarter production of 202,000 boe/d met our guidance of 180,000 to 220,000 boe/d. Operational performance was good across our asset base, except at Syncrude, where production was reduced due to unplanned maintenance. This maintenance is expected to continue into the second quarter.

We are on-track to meet our second quarter and 2012 annual production guidance, with Buzzard reliability, Usan ramp-up and Long Lake performance being the critical drivers of our guidance ranges.

We also continue to expect production to increase as we move from 2012 into 2013. During 2013, our results are expected to reflect a full year of production and cash flow at Usan; pads 12 and 13 at Long Lake should be ramping-up; Rochelle is expected to be producing; and we have less scheduled downtime on our major assets.

                          Average Daily Production before Royalties
    Crude Oil,
     NGLs and
     Natural
       Gas                                                           2012
     (mboe/d)   Q1 2012   Q1 2012  Q2 2012    Q3 2012    Q4 2012    Annual
               Prior Est. Actual   Estimate   Estimate   Estimate  Estimate
       UK -
     Buzzard     75-95      82      75-95      50-60      75-95    70 - 85
    UK - Other   26-34      29      26-34      20-26      25-32    24 - 32
    Canada -
    In Situ      20-25      22      20-27      14-18      22-28    19 - 25
    Canada -
    Oil & Gas    15-20      22      15-18      15-17      15-20    15 - 19
    Canada -
    Syncrude     22-24      21      18-20      22-24      22-24    21 - 23
      United
      States     15-20      16      15-20      13-17      15-17    15 - 19
    West
    Africa        0-10       3      13-30      20-35      22-35    14 - 28
      Other
    Countries        2       7          2          2          2          2
                                                                   
              ~180-220     202   ~190-235   ~160-190   ~205-240   ~185-220

Financial Results

                                                          Three Months Ended
                                                                  Dec.   Mar.
                                                         Mar. 31    31     31
    (Cdn$ millions, unless noted)                          2012    2011   2011
    Brent (US$/bbl)                                       119.13 109.31 104.97
    WTI (US$/bbl)                                         102.93  94.06  94.10
    NYMEX natural gas (US$/mmbtu)                           2.51   3.48   4.20
    Nexen Average Realized Oil & Gas Price ($/boe)         94.67  94.11  85.98
    Cash netback ($/boe)[1]                                45.81  42.85  37.08
    Average Daily Production (mboe/d)
                            Before Royalties                 202    208    232
                            After Royalties                  192    193    207
    Cash flow from operations[2]                             670    585    669
                            Per common share ($/share)      1.27   1.11   1.27
    Net income                                               171     43    202
                            Per common share ($/share)      0.32   0.08   0.38
    Capital investment[3]                                    757    817    499
    Net debt[4]                                            3,449  3,538  3,350
    [1]   Cash netback is defined as our corporate average cash netback from oil
                          and gas operations, after-tax.
    [2]      For reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure, see Cash Flow from
                                Operations on pg. 9.
    [3]           Includes geological and geophysical expenditures.
    [4]    Net debt is defined as long-term debt and short-term borrowings less
                             cash and cash equivalents.

First quarter financial results returned to levels from a year ago despite the loss of Yemen Masila production. This was driven by our significant weighting to strong, Brent-linked oil prices and recently secured long-term export capacity to the west coast of Canada.

Cash netbacks rose 7% compared to the fourth quarter from stronger oil prices and increased production in higher-netback areas such as the UK North Sea. Cash flow from operations rose 15% as the higher netbacks more than offset slightly lower production. We expect netbacks and cash flow from operations to continue to increase as we sell our first oil from Usan and continue to ramp-up production through the remainder of the year.

Net income rose substantially compared to the fourth quarter. Prior quarter net income was affected by significant one-time charges.

Net debt decreased slightly during the quarter; it is expected to further decline in Q2 following the close of our shale gas joint venture agreement.

Quarterly Dividends

The Board of Directors has declared the regular quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share payable July 1, 2012, to shareholders of record on June 8, 2012.

The Board has also declared the initial quarterly dividend on our Series 2 Preferred Shares of $0.3928 per share payable July 3, 2012 to shareholders of record on June 8, 2012.

About Nexen

Nexen Inc. is an independent, Canadian-based global energy company, listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol NXY. Nexen is focused on three growth strategies: oil sands and shale gas in western Canada and conventional exploration and development primarily in the North Sea, offshore West Africa and deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Nexen adds value for shareholders through successful full-cycle oil and gas exploration and development, and leadership in ethics, integrity, governance and environmental stewardship.

For further information on our shale gas joint venture, please refer to our press release dated November 29, 2011. For more information on our estimates of reserves, please refer to our 2011 Annual Information Form.  For more information on our estimates of resource, please refer to our press releases dated November 15, 2010 and April 2, 2012.

Earnings Conference Call

Nexen will discuss its 2012 first quarter financial results in a conference call on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7:00 am Mountain Time (9:00 am Eastern Time) following the release of the results at approximately 3:00 am Mountain Time.

Kevin Reinhart, interim President and CEO, and Una Power, Senior Vice President and interim CFO, will discuss the financial and operating results as well as Nexen's business strategy and future expectations.

                   Conference Call Details:
      Date:             Wednesday, April 25, 2012
      Time:    7:00 am Mountain Time (9:00 am Eastern Time)

To listen to the conference call, please call one of the following:

(647) 427-7450 (Toronto)
(888) 231-8192 (North American toll-free)
(800) 051-7107 (UK toll-free)

We invite you to visit our website at http://www.nexeninc.com/2012q1 to listen to a live webcast of the conference call. Supplementary slides will also be available on our website.

A replay of the call will be available for two weeks starting at 10:00 am Mountain Time, April 25, by calling (416) 849-0833 (Toronto) or (855) 859-2056 (toll-free) and entering the passcode 66037475.

Annual General Meeting

Nexen will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 11:00 am Mountain Time (1:00 pm Eastern Time) at the Hyatt Hotel in Calgary, Alberta.

An archived video of the meeting will be available on our website at http://www.nexeninc.com two business days after the conclusion of the meeting and will remain on our website for six months.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this Release constitute "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended) or "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation). Such statements or information (together "forward-looking statements") are generally identifiable by the forward-looking terminology used such as "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "plan", "expect", "estimate", "budget", "outlook", "forecast" or other similar words and include statements relating to or associated with individual wells, regions or projects. Any statements as to possible future crude oil or natural gas prices; future production levels; future royalties and tax levels; future capital expenditures, their timing and their allocation to exploration and development activities; future earnings; future asset acquisitions or dispositions; future sources of funding for our capital program; future debt levels; availability of committed credit facilities; possible commerciality of our projects; development plans or capacity expansions; the expectation that we have the ability to substantially grow production at our oil sands facilities through controlled expansions; the expectation of achieving the production design rates from our oil sands facilities; the expectation that our oil sands production facilities continue to develop better and more sustainable practices; the expectation of cheaper and more technologically advanced operations; the expected design size of our facilities; the expected timing and associated production impact of facility turnarounds and maintenance; the expectation that we can continue to operate our offshore exploration, development and production facilities safely and profitably; future ability to execute dispositions of assets or businesses; future sources of liquidity, cash flows and their uses; future drilling of new wells; ultimate recoverability of current and long-term assets; ultimate recoverability of reserves or resources; expected finding and development costs; expected operating costs; future cost recovery oil revenues from our Yemen operations; the expectation of our ability to comply with the new safety and environmental rules enacted in the US at a minimal incremental cost, and of receiving necessary drilling permits for our US offshore operations; estimates on a per share basis; future foreign currency exchange rates; future expenditures and future allowances relating to environmental matters and our ability to comply with them; dates by which certain areas will be developed, come on stream or reach expected operating capacity; and changes in any of the foregoing are forward-looking statements.

Statements relating to "reserves" or "resources" are forward-looking statements, as they involve the implied assessment, based on estimates and assumptions that the reserves and resources described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated and can be profitably produced in the future.

All of the forward-looking statements in this Release are qualified by the assumptions that are stated or inherent in such forward-looking statements. Although we believe that these assumptions are reasonable based on the information available to us on the date such assumptions were made, this list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward-looking statements and the reader should not place an undue reliance on these assumptions and such forward-looking statements. The key assumptions that have been made in connection with the forward-looking statements include the following: that we will conduct our operations and achieve results of operations as anticipated; that our development plans will achieve the expected results; the general continuance of current or, where applicable, assumed industry conditions; the continuation of assumed tax, royalty and regulatory regimes; the accuracy of the estimates of our reserve volumes; commodity price and cost assumptions; the continued availability of adequate cash flow and debt and/or equity financing to fund our capital and operating requirements as needed; and the extent of our liabilities. We believe the material factors, expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these factors, expectations and assumptions will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and each of which contributes to the possibility that our forward-looking statements will not occur or that actual results, levels of activity and achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others: market prices for oil and gas; our ability to explore, develop, produce, upgrade and transport crude oil and natural gas to markets; ultimate effectiveness of design or design modifications to facilities; the results of exploration and development drilling and related activities; the cumulative impact of oil sands development on the environment; the impact of technology on operations and processes and how new complex technology may not perform as expected; the availability of pipeline and global refining capacity; risks inherent to the operations of any large, complex refinery units, especially the integration between production operations and an upgrader facility; availability of third-party bitumen for use in our oil sands production facilities; labour and material shortages; risks related to accidents, blowouts and spills in connection with our offshore exploration, development and production activities, particularly our deep-water activities; direct and indirect risks related to the imposition of moratoriums, suspensions or cancellations of our offshore exploration, development and production operations, particularly our deep-water activities; the impact  of severe weather on our offshore exploration, development and production activities, particularly our deep-water activities; the effectiveness and reliability of our technology in harsh and unpredictable environments; risks related to the actions and financial circumstances of our agents and contractors, counterparties and joint venture partners; volatility in energy trading markets; foreign currency exchange rates; economic conditions in the countries and regions in which we carry on business; governmental actions including changes to taxes or royalties, changes in environmental and other laws and regulations including without limitation, those related to our offshore exploration, development and production activities; renegotiations of contracts; results of litigation, arbitration or regulatory proceedings; political uncertainty, including actions by terrorists, insurgent or other groups, or other armed conflict, including conflict between states; and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

These risks, uncertainties and other factors and their possible impact are discussed more fully in the sections titled "Risk Factors" in our 2011 Annual Information Form and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" in our 2011 annual MD&A. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these factors are interdependent, and management's future course of action would depend on our assessment of all information at that time. Although we believe that the expectations conveyed by the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available to us on the date such forward-looking statements were made, no assurances can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements contained herein, which are made as of the date hereof as the plans, intentions, assumptions or expectations upon which they are based might not occur or come to fruition. Except as required by applicable securities laws, Nexen undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Included herein is information that may be considered financial outlook and/or future-oriented financial information (FOFI). Its purpose is to indicate the potential results of our intentions and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Note to Investors on Reserves and Resources

The reserves estimates in this disclosure were prepared with an effective date of December 31, 2011.  The resource estimates were prepared on March 31, 2012.  These estimates have been internally prepared by an internal qualified reserves evaluator in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101") and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ("COGE Handbook"). For more information on this reserves estimate and Nexen's reserves estimation process please refer to our 2011 Annual Information Form. For more information on our Appomattox resource estimate please refer to our press release dated April 2, 2012. Both our Annual Information Form and news releases are available at http://www.nexeninc.com and http://www.sedar.com.

Conversions of gas volumes to boe in these estimates were made on the basis of 1 boe to 6 mcf of natural gas. A boe conversion ratio of 6 mcf:1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Using the forecast prices applied to our reserves estimates, the boe conversion ratio based on wellhead value is approximately 30 mcf:1 bbl. Disclosure provided herein in respect of boes may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation.

Nexen Inc.

Financial Highlights

                                                                Three Months
                                                               Ended March 31
    (Cdn$ millions, except per-share amounts)               2012            2011
    Net Sales [1]                                          1,696           1,640
    Cash Flow from Operations [1]                            670             669
    Per Common Share ($/share)                              1.27            1.27
    Net Income [1]                                           171             202
    Per Common Share ($/share)                              0.32            0.38
    Capital Investment [2]                                   757             499
    Net Debt [3]                                           3,449           3,350
    Common Shares Outstanding (millions of shares)         528.9           526.7
    [1] Includes results of discontinued operations. See Note 23 of our 2011
        Annual Consolidated Financial Statements.
    [2] Includes oil and gas development, exploration, and expenditures for
        other property, plant and equipment.
    [3] Net debt is defined as long-term debt and short-term borrowings less
        cash and cash equivalents.
 
Cash Flow from Operations

 [1]

                                                                     Three Months
                                                                    Ended March 31
    (Cdn$ millions)                                            2012                 2011
    Conventional Oil & Gas
    United Kingdom                                            1,065                  887
    North America                                                38                   65
    Other Countries                                              19                  138
    Oil Sands
    In Situ                                                      18                  (19)
    Syncrude                                                     91                  107
                                                              1,231                1,178
    Interest, Marketing and Other Corporate Items [2]           (81)                 (85)
    Income Taxes                                               (480)                (424)
    Cash Flow from Operations                                   670                  669
    [1]     Defined as cash flow from operating activities before changes in
          non-cash working capital and other. We evaluate our performance and
           that of our business segments based on earnings and cash flow from
             operations. Cash flow from operations is a non-GAAP term that
           represents cash generated from operating activities before changes
          in non-cash working capital and other. We consider it a key measure
           as it demonstrates our ability to generate the cash flow necessary
            to fund future growth through capital investment. Cash flow from
            operations may not be comparable with the calculation of similar
                             measures for other companies.
 
                                                               Three Months
                                                              Ended March 31
    (Cdn$ millions)                                     2012                 2011
    Cash Flow from Operating Activities                  508                  730
    Changes in Non-Cash Working Capital                  146                 (66)
    Other                                                 28                   13
    Impact of Annual Crude Oil Put Options               (12)                  (8)
    Cash Flow from Operations                            670                  669
 
    Weighted-average Number of Common 
    Shares Outstanding (millions of shares)            528.6                526.3
    Cash Flow from Operations Per Common 
    Share ($/share)                                     1.27                 1.27
    [2] Includes results of discontinued operations. See Note 23 of our 2011
        Annual Consolidated Financial Statements.
 

Nexen Inc.

Production Volumes (before royalties) [1]

                                                       Three Months
                                                      Ended March 31
                                                 2012                 2011
    Crude Oil and Liquids (mbbls/d)
    United Kingdom                              106.2                 97.1
    Oil Sands - Long Lake Bitumen [2]            22.4                 16.6
    Oil Sands - Syncrude                         21.3                 23.2
    United States                                 8.0                  9.2
    West Africa                                   2.6                    -
    Other Countries [3]                           6.9                 40.0
                                                167.4                186.1
    Natural Gas (mmcf/d)
    Canada                                        131                  136
    United States                                  50                  103
    United Kingdom                                 28                   34
                                                  209                  273
 
    Total Production (mboe/d)                     202                  232
 

Production Volumes (after royalties)

                                                       Three Months
                                                      Ended March 31
                                                 2012                 2011
    Crude Oil and Liquids (mbbls/d)
    United Kingdom                              105.7                 97.0
    Oil Sands - Long Lake Bitumen [2]            21.0                 15.7
    Oil Sands - Syncrude                         18.8                 22.2
    United States                                 7.2                  8.2
    West Africa                                   2.4                    -
    Other Countries [3]                           4.1                 22.3
                                                159.2                165.4
    Natural Gas (mmcf/d)
    Canada                                        126                  128
    United States                                  43                   89
    United Kingdom                                 28                   34
                                                  197                  251
 
    Total Production (mboe/d)                     192                  207
    [1] We have presented production volumes before royalties as we measure
        our performance on this basis consistent with other Canadian oil and
        
gas companies.
    [2] We report Long Lake bitumen as production.
    [3] Other Countries consists of production in Yemen and Colombia.

<end_table>

Nexen Inc.

Oil and Gas Prices and Cash 
Netback [1]

                                                                                   Total
                                              Quarters - 2012   Quarters - 2011     Year
    (all dollar amounts in Cdn$ unless noted)
                                      1st 2nd 3rd 4th   1st    2nd    3rd    4th    2011
    PRICES:
    Brent Crude Oil (US$/bbl)      119.13            104.97 117.36 113.47 109.31  111.28
    WTI Crude Oil (US$/bbl)        102.93             94.10 102.56  89.76  94.06   95.12
    Nexen Average - Oil (Cdn$/bbl) 111.62             98.37 110.28 103.98 108.44  105.21
    NYMEX Natural Gas (US$/mmbtu)    2.51              4.20   4.37   4.06   3.48    4.03
    AECO Natural Gas (Cdn$/mcf)      2.39              3.58   3.54   3.53   3.29    3.48
    Nexen Average - Gas (Cdn$/mcf)   3.13              4.51   4.75   4.36   3.63    4.31
    NETBACKS [1]:
    United Kingdom
    Crude Oil:
    Sales (mbbls/d)                 106.9             104.2   73.3   75.2   92.7    86.3
    Price Received ($/bbl)         118.12             99.97 110.67 107.58 110.46  106.76
    Natural Gas:
    Sales (mmcf/d)                     33                36     37     26     22      30
    Price Received ($/mcf)           7.83              7.29   8.20   7.28   6.52    7.42
    Total Sales Volume (mboe/d)     112.3             110.2   79.5   79.5   96.4    91.3
 
    Price Received ($/boe)         114.65             96.91 105.87 104.13 107.70  103.32
    Royalties & Other                0.51                 -   0.11   0.82   0.54    0.36
    Operating Costs                 10.14              9.85   8.48  14.46   9.99   10.60
    In-country Taxes                45.41             42.46  42.76  41.00  43.24   42.41
    Netback                         58.59             44.60  54.52  47.85  53.93   49.95
    Oil Sands - In Situ [2]
    Sales (mbbls/d)                  17.8              12.9   14.3   11.8   16.7    13.9
 
    Price Received ($/bbl)          94.45             89.82 108.78  94.15  97.28   98.33
    Royalties & Other                4.79              3.58   6.05   5.07   5.29    5.05
    Operating Costs                 68.89             89.43  95.34  85.42  67.41   83.44
    Netback [2]                     20.77             (3.19)  7.39   3.66  24.58    9.84
    Oil Sands - Syncrude
    Sales (mbbls/d)                  21.3              23.2   20.4   21.6   18.2    20.8
 
    Price Received ($/bbl)          92.54             94.60 111.79  97.65 104.32  101.73
    Royalties & Other               11.25              4.30  13.82   4.65  10.59    8.10
    Operating Costs                 31.36             36.11  39.98  37.10  38.24   37.78
    Netback                         49.93             54.19  57.99  55.90  55.49   55.85
    United States
    Crude Oil:
    Sales (mbbls/d)                   8.0               9.2    8.9    7.7    7.2     8.2
    Price Received ($/bbl)         108.40             91.39 101.89  96.00 110.89   99.65
    Natural Gas:
    Sales (mmcf/d)                     50               103     96     81     66      86
    Price Received ($/mcf)           2.67              4.36   4.42   4.27   3.59    4.21
    Total Sales Volume (mboe/d)      16.3              26.3   24.9   21.2   18.2    22.6
 
    Price Received ($/boe)          61.33             48.91  53.56  50.72  57.27   52.31
    Royalties & Other                6.02              5.65   6.11   5.63   3.31    5.30
    Operating Costs                 17.29             10.43  10.72  11.18  16.73   11.96
    Netback                         38.02             32.83  36.73  33.91  37.23   35.05

    [1] Netbacks are defined as average sales price less royalties, other
        operating costs and in-country taxes.
    [2] Excludes activities related to third-party bitumen purchased,
        processed and sold.
 
Nexen Inc.

Oil and Gas Cash 
Netback [1](continued)

                                                                               Total
                                    Quarters - 2012   Quarters - 2011           Year
    (all dollar amounts in Cdn$ unless noted) 
                                    1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st    2nd   3rd     4th    2011
 
    Canada - Natural Gas[2]
    Sales (mmcf/d)                  131              97     85    79     112      93
 
    Price Received ($/mcf)         2.12            3.65   3.62  3.51    3.08    3.44
    Royalties & Other              0.08            0.28   0.24  0.27    0.17    0.23
    Operating Costs                1.58            1.70   1.54  1.65    1.70    1.65
    Netback                        0.46            1.67   1.84  1.59    1.21    1.56
    Yemen [3]
    Sales (mbbls/d)                 3.9            34.9   39.3  31.8    27.8    33.4
 
    Price Received ($/bbl)       122.49          101.57 111.77 107.98 111.14  108.11
    Royalties & Other             65.01           46.98  52.26  49.72  45.94   48.97
    Operating Costs               13.83           10.75   9.18  13.20  20.48   12.92
    In-country Taxes              12.93           13.48  16.26  15.49  14.03   14.89
    Netback                       30.72           30.36  34.07  29.57  30.69   31.33
    Other Countries
    Sales (mbbls/d)                 1.5             1.8    1.7    1.6    1.6     1.7
 
    Price Received ($/bbl)       112.22           93.52 106.57 101.28 110.46  102.71
    Royalties & Other              7.03            6.22   6.93   6.57   7.03    6.68
    Operating Costs               10.95            8.11  10.19   8.58   9.65    9.11
    Netback                       94.24           79.19  89.45  86.13  93.78   86.92
    Company-Wide
    Oil and Gas Sales (mboe/d)    195.0           225.5  194.3  180.7  197.6   199.2
 
    Price Received ($/boe)        94.67           85.98  95.31  91.06  94.11   91.46
    Royalties & Other              3.87            8.74  13.47  10.83   8.62   10.34
    Operating & Other Costs [2]   18.56           17.32  18.68  20.80  19.56   19.00
    In-country Taxes              26.43           22.84  20.78  20.76  23.08   21.92
    Netback                       45.81           37.08  42.38  38.67  42.85   40.20

    [1] Netbacks are defined as average sales price less royalties and other,
        
operating costs and in-country taxes.
    [2] Includes Canadian conventional, CBM and shale gas activities. Shale
        gas was included beginning in the fourth quarter of 2011 when it
       
 became commercial.
    [3] In 2012, netbacks related to Yemen only included Block 51.

<end_table>

Nexen Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income

For the Three Months Ended March 31

    (Cdn$ millions, except per-share amounts)           2012             2011
    Revenues and Other Income
    Net Sales                                          1,696            1,598
    Marketing and Other Income (Note 8)                   30               46
                                                       1,726            1,644
    Expenses
    Operating                                            339              363
    Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization             397              370
    Transportation and Other                             120               67
    General and Administrative                           126              105
    Exploration                                           60              126
    Finance (Note 5)                                      64               74
    Loss on Debt Redemption and Repurchase                 -               90
                                                       1,106            1,195
 
    Income from Continuing Operations before 
    Provision for Income Taxes                           620              449
 
    Provision for (Recovery of) Income Taxes
    Current                                              480              424
    Deferred                                             (31)             125
                                                         449              549
 
    Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations         171             (100)
    Net Income from Discontinued Operations, 
    Net of Tax (Note 10)                                   -              302
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc. Shareholders   171              202
 
    Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share from Continuing 
    Operations ($/share) (Note 6)
    Basic                                               0.32            (0.19)
 
    Diluted                                             0.32            (0.19)
 
    Earnings Per Common Share ($/share) (Note 6)
    Basic                                               0.32             0.38
 
    Diluted                                             0.32             0.38
 
                  See accompanying notes to the Unaudited Condensed 
                        Consolidated Financial Statements.
 
Nexen Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

                                                   March 31                   December 31
    (Cdn$ millions)                                    2012                          2011
    Assets
    Current Assets
    Cash and Cash Equivalents                           856                           845
    Restricted Cash                                      19                            45
    Accounts Receivable                               2,039                         2,247
    Derivative Contracts                                108                           119
    Inventories and Supplies                            333                           320
    Other                                               118                           115
    Total Current Assets                              3,473                         3,691
    Non-Current Assets
    Property, Plant and Equipment (Note 3)           15,790                        15,571
    Goodwill                                            286                           291
    Deferred Income Tax Assets                          342                           338
    Derivative Contracts                                  7                            25
    Other Long-Term Assets                              122                           152
    Total Assets                                     20,020                        20,068
 
    Liabilities
    Current Liabilities
    Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities          2,597                         2,867
    Current Income Taxes Payable                        470                           458
    Derivative Contracts                                 83                           103
    Total Current Liabilities                         3,150                         3,428
    Non-Current Liabilities
    Long-Term Debt                                    4,305                         4,383
    Deferred Income Tax Liabilities                   1,444                         1,488
    Asset Retirement Obligations                      2,017                         2,010
    Derivative Contracts                                  6                            24
    Other Long-Term Liabilities                         380                           362
    Equity (Note 6)
    Nexen Inc. Shareholders' Equity
    Share Capital
    Common Shares                                     1,175                         1,157
    Preferred Shares                                    195                             -
    Retained Earnings                                 7,356                         7,211
    Cumulative Translation Adjustment                    (8)                            5
    Total Equity                                      8,718                         8,373
    Total Liabilities and Equity                     20,020                        20,068
 
                                 See accompanying notes to Unaudited 
                              Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
 
Nexen Inc. 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the Three Months Ended March 31 

    (Cdn$ millions)                                                       2012       2011
    Operating Activities
    Net Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations                           171       (100)
    Net Income from Discontinued Operations                                  -        302
    Charges and Credits to Income not Involving Cash (Note 9)              451        349
    Exploration Expense                                                     60        126
    Changes in Non-Cash Working Capital (Note 9)                          (146)        66
    Other                                                                  (28)       (13)
                                                                           508        730
 
    Financing Activities
    Repayment of Long-Term Debt                                              -       (346)
    Issue of Preferred Shares (Note 6)                                     195          -
    Dividends Paid on Common Shares                                        (26)       (26)
    Issue of Common Shares                                                  18         23
    Other                                                                   (2)         7
                                                                           185       (342)
 
    Investing Activities
    Capital Expenditures
    Exploration, Evaluation and Development                               (728)      (476)
    Corporate and Other                                                    (21)       (17)
    Proceeds from Dispositions                                               7        462
    Changes in Restricted Cash                                              26         (9)
    Changes in Non-Cash Working Capital (Note 9)                            42         84
    Other                                                                    1        (52)
                                                                          (673)        (8)
 
    Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents            (9)       (11)
 
    Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents                                   11        369
 
    Cash and Cash Equivalents - Beginning of Period                        845      1,005
 
    Cash and Cash Equivalents - End of Period [1]                          856      1,374

    [1]      Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2012 consists of cash
              of $244 million and short-term investments of $612 million
                 (March 31, 2011 - cash of $299 million and short-term
                   
        investments of $1,075 million).
 


          See accompanying notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
                              Financial Statements.

<end_table>

Nexen Inc. 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity  


For the Three Months Ended March 31

    (Cdn$ millions)                                            2012       2011
 
    Share Capital
    Common Shares, Beginning of Period                        1,157      1,111
    Issue of Common Shares                                       18         23
    Common Shares, Balance at End of Period                   1,175      1,134
 
    Preferred Shares, Beginning of Period                         -          -
    Issue of Preferred Shares                                   195          -
    Preferred Shares, Balance at End of Period                  195          -
 
    Retained Earnings, Beginning of Period                    7,211      6,692
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc.
    Shareholders                                                171        202
    Dividends on Common Shares (Note 6)                         (26)       (26)
    Balance at End of Period                                  7,356      6,868
 
    Cumulative Translation Adjustment, Beginning of
    Period                                                        5        (37)
    Currency Translation Adjustment                             (18)       (11)
    Realized Translation Adjustments [1]                          5          -
    Balance at End of Period                                     (8)       (48)

     [1] Net of income tax recovery for the three months ended March 31, 2012 of $2
         million (2011 - nil).

         See accompanying notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial
                                        Statements.
Nexen Inc. 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income  


For the Three Months Ended March 31

    (Cdn$ millions)                                            2012       2011
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc.
    Shareholders                                                171        202
    Other Comprehensive Income (Loss):
    Currency Translation Adjustment
    Net Translation Losses of Foreign Operations                (84)      (104)
    Net Translation Gains on US$-Denominated Debt
    Hedging of Foreign Operations [1]                            66         93
    Total Currency Translation Adjustment                       (18)       (11)
    Total Comprehensive Income                                  153        191

    [1]   Net of income tax expense for the three months ended March 31,
           2012 of $9 million (2011 - net of income tax expense of $13
                                   million).

     See accompanying notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial
                                   Statements.
Nexen Inc. 

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements  


Cdn$ millions, except as noted

1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Nexen Inc. (Nexen, we or our) is an independent, global energy company with 
operations in the UK North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, offshore Nigeria, Canada, Yemen, 
Colombia and Poland. Nexen is incorporated and domiciled in Canada and our head 
office is located at 801-7th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 
Nexen's shares are publicly traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the 
New York Stock Exchange.

These Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the three 
months ended March 31, 2012 have been prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting 
Standards Board (IASB). Specifically, they have been prepared in accordance with 
International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 Interim Financial Reporting. 
The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all of 
the information required for annual financial statements and should be read in 
conjunction with the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year 
ended December 31, 2011, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS.

The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements were authorized for 
issue by Nexen's Board of Directors on April 24, 2012.

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accounting policies we follow are described in Note 2 of the Audited 
Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. There 
have been no changes to our accounting policies since December 31, 2011.

3. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT (PP&E)

Carrying amount of PP&E

                                  Exploration       Assets  Producing
                                          and        Under  Oil & Gas  Corporate
                                   Evaluation Construction Properties  and Other     Total
    Cost
    As at December 31, 2011            2,206         2,347     19,832       837     25,222
    Additions                            220           193        323        21        757
    Disposals/Derecognitions               -             -          -       (12)       (12)
    Transfers [1]                          -        (1,862)     1,862         -          -
    Exploration Expense                  (60)            -          -         -       (60)
    Other                                  3             -         25         -         28
    Effect of Changes in Exchange Rate   (19)          (12)      (198)       (4)      (233)
    As at March 31, 2012               2,350           666     21,844       842     25,702
 
    Accumulated Depreciation, Depletion &
    Amortization (DD&A)
    As at December 31, 2011              368             -      8,860       423      9,651
    DD&A                                  11             -        364        22        397
    Disposals/Derecognitions               -             -          -       (12)       (12)
    Other                                  -             -         14         -         14
    Effect of Changes in Exchange Rate    (5)            -       (132)       (1)      (138)
    As at March 31, 2012                 374             -      9,106       432      9,912
 
    Net Book Value
    As at December 31, 2011            1,838         2,347     10,972       414     15,571
    As at March 31, 2012               1,976           666     12,738       410     15,790

    [1] Includes PP&E costs related to our Usan development, offshore
        Nigeria which came on-stream February 2012.
 
Exploration and evaluation assets mainly comprise of unproved properties and 
capitalized exploration drilling costs. Assets under construction at March 31, 
2012 primarily include our developments in the UK North Sea.

4. LONG-TERM DEBT

During the three months ended March 31, 2012, we borrowed and repaid 
approximately $254 million on our term credit facilities and recorded 
approximately $75 million of unrealized foreign exchange gains on long-term debt 
in other comprehensive income.

We have undrawn, committed, unsecured term credit facilities of $3.7 billion, 
of which $700 million is available until 2014 and $3 billion is available until 
2016. As at March 31, 2012, $236 million of our term credit facilities were 
utilized to support letters of credit (December 31, 2011-$367 million).

Nexen has undrawn, uncommitted, unsecured credit facilities of approximately 
$180 million. We utilized $6 million of these facilities to support outstanding 
letters of credit at March 31, 2012 (December 31, 2011-$17 million).

Nexen has uncommitted, unsecured credit facilities of approximately $210 
million exclusively to support letters of credit. We utilized $18 million of 
these facilities to support outstanding letters of credit at March 31, 2012 
(December 31, 2011-$4 million).

5. FINANCE EXPENSE

                                                             Three Months Ended March 31
                                                                  2012           2011
    Interest on Long-Term Debt                                      75             84
    Accretion Expense Related to Asset Retirement Obligations       13             11
    Other Interest and Fees                                          5              7
    Total                                                           93            102
    Less: Capitalized at 6.7% (2011 - 6.5%)                        (29)           (28)
    Total                                                           64             74
 
Capitalized interest relates to and is included as part of the cost of our 
oil and gas properties. The capitalization rates are based on our 
weighted-average cost of borrowings.

6. EQUITY

(a) Common Shares

Authorized share capital consists of an unlimited number of common shares of 
no par value. At March 31, 2012, there were 528,914,137 common shares 
outstanding (December 31, 2011-527,892,635 common shares).

(b) Preferred Shares

Authorized share capital consists of an unlimited number of Class A preferred 
shares of no par value, issuable in series. In March 2012, we issued eight 
million Cumulative Redeemable Class A Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series 2 
(Series 2 Shares) at a price of $25 per share for net proceeds of $195 
million.

The holders of the Series 2 Shares are entitled to receive a fixed cumulative 
dividend at an annual rate of $1.25 per share, payable quarterly, until March 
31, 2017, as and when declared by Nexen's Board of Directors. Thereafter, the 
dividend rate will be reset every five years at a rate equal to the then current 
five-year Government of Canada bond yield plus 3.59%. The Series 2 Shares are 
redeemable at our option on March 31, 2017, and on March 31 of every fifth year 
thereafter.

The holders of the Series 2 Shares will have the right, at their option, to 
convert their shares into Cumulative Redeemable Class A Floating Rate Preferred 
Shares, Series 3 (Series 3 Shares), subject to certain conditions, on March 31, 
2017 and on March 31 of every fifth year thereafter. The holders of the Series 3 
Shares will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate cumulative dividends, 
if declared, at a rate equal to the sum of the then current 90-day Government of 
Canada treasury bill rate plus 3.59%.

In the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of Nexen, the holders 
of the Series 2 Shares will be entitled to receive $25 per share as well as all 
accrued unpaid dividends before any amounts will be paid or any assets will be 
distributed to the holders of any other shares ranking junior to the preferred 
shares. The holders of the preferred shares will not be entitled to share in any 
further distribution of the assets of Nexen.

(c) Earnings Per Common Share (EPS)

We calculate basic EPS using net income attributable to Nexen Inc. 
shareholders, adjusted for preferred share dividends and divided by the 
weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. We calculate diluted EPS 
in the same manner as basic, except we adjust basic earnings for the potential 
conversion of the subordinated debentures and potential exercise of outstanding 
tandem options for shares, if dilutive. We use the weighted-average number of 
diluted common shares outstanding in the denominator of our diluted EPS 
calculation.

                                                               Three Months Ended March 31
    (Cdn$ millions)                                                    2012           2011
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc. Shareholders                  171            202
    Preferred Share Dividends                                            (1)             -
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc. Shareholders, Basic           170            202
    Potential Conversion of Subordinated Debentures                       7              6
    Net Income Attributable to Nexen Inc. Shareholders, Diluted         177            208
 
    (millions of shares)
    Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding, Basic         529            526
    Common Shares Issuable Pursuant to Potential 
    Conversion of Subordinated
    Debentures                                                           24             19
    Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding, Diluted       553            545
 
In calculating the weighted-average number of diluted common shares 
outstanding and related earnings adjustments for the three months ended March 
31, 2012, we excluded 14,883,722 tandem options (2011-14,662,587) because their 
exercise price was greater than the average common share market price in the 
quarter. During the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, the potential 
conversion of subordinated debentures was the only dilutive instrument.

(d) Dividends

Dividends paid for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 were $0.05 
per common share. Dividends paid to holders of common shares have been 
designated as "eligible dividends" for Canadian tax purposes. On April 24, 2012, 
the board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share, 
payable July 1, 2012 to the shareholders of record on June 8, 2012. On April 24, 
2012, the board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3928 per Series 
2 Share, payable July 3, 2012 to the shareholders of record on June 8, 2012.

(e) Stock-Based Compensation

                                                  Three Months Ended March 31, 2012
    (thousands of shares)                     Options        STARs        RSUs       PSUs
    Outstanding, Beginning of
    Period                                     14,854       14,407       2,025        390
    Granted                                     1,368          303       1,862        312
    Exercised or Redeemed for Cash                (42)        (131)         (1)         -
    Cancelled                                  (1,118)        (633)        (77)       (30)
    Expired                                       (20)         (73)          -          -
    Outstanding, End of Period                 15,042       13,873       3,809        672
 
    Exercisable, End of Period                  8,356        9,876
 
Options and STARs granted in the quarter have a weighted average exercise 
price of $19.68/unit. We recognized compensation expense related to share-based 
payments in the amount of $26 million (2011-$ 32 million) for the quarter.

7. COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES

As described in Note 19 to the 2011 Audited Consolidated Financial 
Statements, there are a number of lawsuits and claims pending, the ultimate 
results of which cannot be ascertained at this time. We record costs as they are 
incurred or become determinable. We believe that payments, if any, related to 
existing indemnities, would not have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, 
financial condition or results of operations.

We assume various contractual obligations and commitments in the normal 
course of our operations. During the quarter, we entered into commitments 
comprised of the following:

 
                          2012      2013      2014      2015      2016   Thereafter
    Transportation,
    Processing and
    Storage
    Commitments             13        22        36        36        36          335
    Drilling Rig
    Commitments             47        57         3         -         -            -
 
The commitments above are in addition to those included in Note 19 to the 
2011 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements.

8. MARKETING AND OTHER INCOME

                                                            Three Months Ended March 31
                                                                    2012           2011
    Marketing Revenue, Net                                            65             51
    Change in Fair Value of Crude Oil Put Options                    (36)            (7)
    Foreign Exchange Losses                                          (16)           (22)
    Other                                                             17             24
    Total                                                             30             46
 
9.CASH FLOWS

(a) Charges and credits to income not involving 
cash

                                                            Three Months Ended March 31
                                                                    2012           2011
    Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization                         397            370
    Change in Fair Value of Crude Oil Put Options                     36              7
    Stock-Based Compensation                                          26             27
    Foreign Exchange                                                  16             23
    Provision for (Recovery of) Deferred Income Taxes                (31)           125
    Loss on Debt Redemption and Repurchase                             -             90
    Non-Cash Items Included in Discontinued Operations                 -           (290)
    Other                                                              7            (3)
    Total                                                            451            349
 
(b) Changes in non-cash working capital

                                                       Three Months Ended March 31
                                                               2012           2011
    Accounts Receivable                                         165            (374)
    Inventories and Supplies                                     (7)             21
    Other Current Assets                                         (2)              8
    Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities                   (263)            417
    Current Income Taxes Payable                                  3              78
    Total                                                      (104)            150
 
    Relating to:
    Operating Activities                                       (146)             66
    Investing Activities                                         42              84
    Total                                                      (104)            150
 
(c) Other cash flow information

                                            Three Months Ended March 31
                                                    2012           2011
    Interest Paid                                     90             64
    Income Taxes Paid                                480            391
 
10. DISPOSITIONS

Discontinued Operations

In February 2011, we completed the sale of our 62.7% investment in Canexus, 
which operates a chemicals business, for net proceeds of $458 million and we 
realized a gain on disposition of $348 million in the first quarter of 2011. The 
gain on sale and results of our chemicals business have been presented as 
discontinued operations.

                                                          Three Months
                                                        Ended March 31
                                                                  2011
                                                             Chemicals
    Revenues and Other Income
    Net Sales                                                       42
    Other                                                           (1)
    Gain on Disposition                                            348
                                                                   389
    Expenses
    Operating                                                       25
    Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization                         4
    Transportation and Other                                         2
    General and Administrative                                       2
    Finance                                                          2
                                                                    35
    Income before Provision for Income Taxes                       354
    Less: Provision for Deferred Income Taxes                       51
 
    Income before Non-Controlling Interests                        303
    Less: Non-Controlling Interests                                  1
    Net Income from Discontinued
    Operations, Net of Tax                                         302
 
    Earnings Per Common Share
    Basic                                                         0.57
    Diluted                                                       0.57
 
11. OPERATING SEGMENTS AND RELATED INFORMATION

Nexen has the following operating segments:

Conventional Oil and Gas: We explore for, develop and produce crude 
oil and natural gas from conventional sources around the world. Our operations 
are focused in the UK North Sea, North America (Canada and US) and other 
countries (offshore Nigeria, Colombia, Yemen and Poland).

Oil Sands: We develop and produce synthetic crude oil from the 
Athabasca oil sands in northern Alberta. We produce bitumen using in situ and 
mining technologies and upgrade it into synthetic crude oil before ultimate 
sale. Our in situ activities are comprised of our operations at Long Lake and 
future development phases. Our mining activities are conducted through our 7.23% 
ownership of the Syncrude Joint Venture.

Shale Gas: We explore for and produce unconventional gas from shale 
formations in northeast British Columbia. Production and results of operations 
are included within Conventional Oil and Gas until they become significant.

Corporate and Other includes energy marketing and unallocated items. The 
results of Canexus have been presented as discontinued operations.

The accounting policies of our operating segments are the same as those 
described in Note 2 of our Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the 
year ended December 31, 2011. Net income (loss) of our operating segments 
excludes interest income, interest expense, income tax expense, unallocated 
corporate expenses and foreign exchange gains and losses. Identifiable assets 
are those used in the operations of the segments.

                                                                      Corporate 
                                                                         and
                              Conventional               Oil Sands      Other     Total
                       United    North    Other
                      Kingdom  America Countries[1]  In Situ  Syncrude
 
    Net Sales           1,166      106          34       218       158      14     1,696
    Marketing and 
    Other Income            6        3           7         -         -      14        30
                        1,172      109          41       218       158      28     1,726
 
    Less: Expenses
    Operating             104       44           9       114        61       7       339
    Depreciation, 
    Depletion and
    Amortization          246       66           6        49        16      14       397
    Transportation 
    and Other               -        7           -        77         6      30       120
    General and 
    Administrative          5       24           9        11         -      77       126
    Exploration            11       38          11[2]      -         -       -        60
    Finance                 6        4           -         1         2      51        64
    Income (Loss) 
    before Income
    Taxes                 800      (74)          6       (34)       73    (151)      620
    Less: Provision 
    for Income Taxes                                                                449[3]
    Net Income                                                                       171
 
    Capital Expenditures  195      255         130[4]    149        20       8       757
Segmented net income for the three months ended 
March 31, 2012

    [1]  Includes results of operations in Yemen and Colombia.
    [2]  Includes exploration activities primarily in Colombia and Poland.
    [3]  Includes UK current tax expense of $476 million.
    [4]  Includes capital expenditures for Nigeria of $96 million.
 

                                                                         Corporate 
                                                                            and
                              Conventional                   Oil Sands     Other    Total
                      United    North     Other
                     Kingdom  America Countries[1,2]   In Situ  Syncrude
 
    Net Sales            962      133            185       115       189    14     1,598
    Marketing and 
    Other Income          16        2              4         -         -    24        46
                         978      135            189       115       189    38     1,644
 
    Less: Expenses
    Operating             98       40             35       107        75     8       363
    Depreciation, 
    Depletion and
    Amortization         182      105             25        29        16    13       370
    Transportation 
    and Other              -        4              5        18         6    34        67
    General and 
    Administrative       (12)      33             15        11         -    58       105
    Exploration            4       59             63[3]      -         -     -       126
    Finance                5        4              -         1         1    63        74
    Loss on Debt 
    Redemption             -        -              -         -         -    90        90
    Income (Loss) 
    from Continuing
    Operations 
    before Income
    Taxes                701     (110)            46       (51)       91  (228)      449
    Less: Provision 
    for Income Taxes                                                                549[4]
    Loss from 
    Continuing 
    Operations                                                                      (100)
    Add: Net Income 
    from 
    Discontinued 
    Operations                                                                       302
    Net Income                                                                       202
 
    Capital Expenditures  74      119           146[5]     129        19    12       499
Segmented net income for the three months ended 
March 31, 2011

    [1]  Includes results of operations in Yemen and Colombia.
    [2]  Includes Yemen Masila net sales of $146 million and net income
         before taxes of $61 million.
    [3]  Includes exploration activities primarily in Yemen, Nigeria, Norway
         and Colombia.
    [4]  Includes UK current tax expense of $426 million.
    [5]  Includes capital expenditures for Nigeria of $100 million.
 

                                                                       Corporate 
                                                                          and
                             Conventional                Oil Sands       Other       Total
                      United    North      Other
                     Kingdom  America  Countries    In Situ   Syncrude
 
    Total Assets       4,775    3,496      2,216      5,958      1,406   2,169[1]   20,020
 
    Property, Plant 
    and Equipment
    Cost               7,196    7,402      2,643      6,064      1,753     644      25,702
    Less: Accumulated 
    DD&A               3,887    4,306        655        254        427     383       9,912
    Net Book Value     3,309    3,096[2]   1,988[3]   5,810[4]   1,326     261      15,790
Segmented assets as at March 31, 2012

    [1]   Includes cash of $438 million, and Energy Marketing accounts
          receivable, current derivative assets and inventory of $1,292
          million.
    [2]   Includes capitalized costs of $1,424 million associated with our
          Canadian shale gas operations.
    [3]   Includes $1,874 million related to our Usan development, offshore
          Nigeria.
    [4]   Includes net book value of $5,105 million for Long Lake Phase 1 and
          $705 million for future phases of our in situ oil sands projects.
 

                                                                      Corporate 
                                                                         and
                             Conventional                Oil Sands      Other       Total
                      United    North      Other
                     Kingdom  America  Countries    In Situ  Syncrude
 
    Total Assets       4,817    3,403      2,138      5,881     1,423   2,406[1]   20,068
 
    Property, Plant 
    and Equipment
    Cost               7,103    7,256      2,566      5,915     1,733     649      25,222
    Less: Accumulated 
    DD&A               3,707    4,299        648        205       411     381       9,651
    Net Book Value     3,396    2,957[2]   1,918[3]   5,710[4]  1,322     268      15,571
Segmented assets as at December 31, 2011

    [1]   Includes cash of $453 million, and Energy Marketing accounts
          receivable, current derivative assets and inventory of $1,449
          million.
    [2]   Includes capitalized costs of $1,293 million associated with our
          Canadian shale gas operations.
    [3]   Includes $1,821 million related to our Usan development, offshore
          Nigeria.
    [4]   Includes net book value of $5,050 million for Long Lake Phase 1 and
          $660 million for future phases of our in situ oil sands projects.
 
 



For further information:

For investor relations inquiries, please contact:
Janet 
Craig
Vice President, Investor Relations
+1(403)699-4230

For 
media and general inquiries, please contact:
Pierre 
Alvarez
Vice President, Corporate Relations
+1(403) 
699-5202

801 - 7th Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 
3P7
http://www.nexeninc.com

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