Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has teamed up with Chevron Corp. to drill four deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) prospects. Under the agreement announced Wednesday, Anadarko will pay a disproportionate share of the drilling costs to earn a 20-25% working interest in two appraisal wells and two exploration wells scheduled to be completed by midyear 2006. Anadarko will also gain rights in 29 deepwater Gulf of Mexico blocks.

“This agreement enhances our position in the Gulf of Mexico’s prolific Miocene Foldbelt trend, a key growth area where we already have three discoveries under development,” said Bob Daniels, Anadarko senior vice president, Exploration and Production. “These identified exploration opportunities, two of which are discovery appraisals, give us access to quality prospects that will be drilled in a short time frame.”

The two appraisal wells, Tonga (Green Canyon block 727) and Sturgis (Atwater Valley block 138), will evaluate the commercial value of existing discoveries, as well as additional exploration potential identified in these areas. The two planned exploration wells are Turtle Lake (Green Canyon block 847) and Caterpillar (Mississippi Canyon block 782), which is close to Chevron’s Blind Faith discovery. Chevron will operate all four wells using drilling rigs already under contract. Caterpillar is expected to spud within the next two months.

In a separate transaction with another company, Anadarko gained a 15% working interest in Chevron’s Big Foot prospect currently drilling on Walker Ridge block 29. Anadarko has interests in 270 deepwater blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

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