It is currently producing some 20,000 barrels of 53.3-degrees API crude per day, down from its peak of more than 40,000 bpd earlier this year. Buffalo came on stream in December 1999 and is expected to remain productive for three years. The sale is subject to the pre-emptive rights of BHP's equal-sharing partner Nexen, formerly known as Canadian Occidental Petroleum, as well as the usual government approvals.