David Larson 12818723125 or Brad Whitmarsh12818723187

Unions estimate that more than 2,000 people employed incompanies that provide support services to Tara workers and theTara site, around 50 km from Dublin, could also be at risk if itwas to close. Ireland's once-booming economy is haemorrhaging jobs as itslips into recession, with the number of people claimingunemployment benefit hitting a 15-year high of nearly 300,000 inDecember. The unemployment rate is set to hit 10.2 percent this yearfrom 8.3 percent in December and high-profile names such as Dell(DELL.O) have already announced layoffs. If workers at Tara do not agree to the proposals the minecould be shut later this month with only a skeleton staff ofaround 30 people kept on to maintain the mine.

Some 2.7 million tonnes of ore are mined annually at Tara,which yield zinc and lead concentrates containing up to 200,000tonnes of zinc and 40,000 tonnes of lead metal, Boliden'swebsite said. Boliden said last month it was cutting zinc production atits Finnish and Norwegian smelters due to falling demand. Demand for zinc, used to galvanise steel for the car andconstruction industries, has declined sharply following aslowdown in the global economy Stocks. GAZA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Hamas said on Saturday that Israel's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip does not put an end to the group's "resistance". "A unilateral ceasefire does not mean ending the (Israeli) aggression and ending the siege. These constitute acts of war and so this will not mean an end to resistance," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Reuters.. (NYSE: NBL)announced today a natural gas discovery at the Tamar prospect in the Matanlicense, offshore Israel.The Tamar 1 well, located in approximately 5,500feet of water, was drilled to a total depth of 16,076 feet to test a subsalt,lower-Miocene structure in the Levantine basin.Formation logs identifiedmore than 460 feet of net pay in three high-quality reservoirs.The thicknessand quality of the reservoirs encountered were greater than anticipated at thewell location Charles D.

Davidson, Noble Energy's Chairman, President and CEO, said, "Tamarrepresents our first exploratory well offshore Israel in more than five years,and we are extremely excited by the results.This is one of the mostsignificant prospects that we have ever tested and appears to be the largestdiscovery in the company's history.Early indications are that the resourcesidentified are very substantial, at least equal to our pre-drill estimatedgross mean resources of over three trillion cubic feet.Subject to thecollection of additional data, the resource estimate for Tamar could furtherincrease.This discovery continues to highlight the potential of our globalprograms and further demonstrates the significant value generated from ourbest-in-class exploration efforts.""We were also very pleased with the drilling operations of this well, despitethe uncertain conditions that exist when drilling in a highly under-exploredarea, with the nearest well control over 60 miles away," Davidson added. Production testing at Tamar will be performed after the well is completed. Noble Energy and its partners may keep the rig to drill up to two additionalwells in the basin.Pending positive test results, one well could be anappraisal at Tamar.In addition, the partners are considering drilling asecond subsalt, lower Miocene prospect. Noble Energy is a leading independent energy company engaged in worldwide oiland gas exploration and production.The Company operates primarily in theRocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, and deepwater Gulf of Mexico areas in theUnited States, with key international operations offshore Israel, UK and WestAfrica.Noble Energy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is tradedunder the ticker symbol NBL.Visit Noble Energy online at news release may include projections and other "forward-lookingstatements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws.Any suchprojections or statements reflect Noble Energy's current views about futureevents and financial performance.No assurances can be given that such eventsor performance will occur as projected, and actual results may differmaterially from those projected.Risks, uncertainties and assumptions thatcould cause actual results to differ materially from those projected include,without limitation, the volatility in commodity prices for crude oil andnatural gas, the presence or recoverability of estimated reserves, the abilityto replace reserves, environmental risks, drilling and operating risks,exploration and development risks, competition, government regulation or otheraction, the ability of management to execute its plans to meet its goals andother risks inherent in Noble Energy's business that are detailed in itsSecurities and Exchange Commission filings.Words such as "anticipates,""believes," "expects,""intends," "will," "should", "may," and similarexpressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements.Noble Energyassumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update theinformation contained herein except as required by law.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits oil and gascompanies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reservesthat a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formationtests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic andoperating conditions. We use certain terms in this news release, such as"resources," that the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including infilings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosuresand risk factors in our Forms 10-K and 10-Q, File No. 1-07964, available fromNoble Energy's offices or website, http:// These formscan also be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.SOURCENoble Energy, Inc.David Larson, 1-281-872-3125, , or Brad Whitmarsh,1-281-872-3187, .