In what may be one of the biggest oil and gas finds in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in a decade, BP plc said Wednesday it has made a “giant” discovery in the Lower Tertiary trend near the Kaskida discovery.

The discovery at the Tiber well may be larger than BP’s 2006 Kaskida discovery, which contains an estimated 3 billion boe in place, a BP spokesman told NGI. If Tiber proves its worth, together Tiber and Kaskida alone could increase BP’s GOM output by more than 60% to 650,000 boe/d within the next 15 years, he said.

“These material discoveries, together with our industry-leading acreage position, support the continuing growth of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade,” said Andy Inglis, who helms BP’s exploration and production business.

The Tiber well, completed in August, is in Keathley Canyon Block 102, 250 miles southeast of Houston in 4,132 feet (1,259 meters) of water. The well was drilled to a total depth of 35,055 feet (10,685 meters), “making it one of the deepest wells ever drilled by the oil and gas industry,” BP said.

The London-based producer operates Tiber and holds a 62% stake; Brazil’s Petroleo Brasilerio SA has a 20% interest and ConocoPhillips holds an 18% stake.

Technical estimates of Tiber are ongoing, and it’s too early to estimate the resources in place, said the BP spokesman. According to BP, the oil discovered in Tiber is light, which indicates a higher recovery rate. An estimated 20-30% recovery rate would imply recoverable reserves of 600-900 million boe.

Even if the reserves numbers are high, the Lower Tertiary trend is expected to take years to develop. BP owns almost 74% of the Kaskida discovery; Devon Energy Corp. owns the remaining interest (see Daily GPI, April 23, 2008). Devon officials in August said appraisal drilling operations were under way at Kaskida; total drilling depth is expected this month (see Daily GPI, Aug. 6). An additional well at the Kaskida discovery is being considered for next year, according to Devon.

If the Tiber discovery proves to be as big or bigger than BP’s deepwater jewel Thunder Horse, “repeating that kind of find is the holy grail” for BP, said ING analyst Jason Kenney. The Thunder Horse field platform, about 140 miles southeast of New Orleans, is tethered to the sea floor in 6,000 feet of water. The field ramped up last year following a three-year delay (see Daily GPI, June 18, 2008).

Thunder Horse currently is producing 300,000 boe/d, including 200 MMcf/d, which makes it the No. 2 production area in the United States after Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay. ExxonMobil Corp. owns a quarter stake.

BP’s GOM portfolio is estimated at around 550 leases. It already is the largest oil and natural gas producer in the GOM, with net production of more than 400,000 boe/d. BP estimates that it has partnered on nearly a third of all the large fields in the GOM over the past 10 years.

Including Kaskida, the producer is partnering on nine GOM projects in the development stages: Atlantis Phase 2, Tubular Bells, Kodiak, Freedom, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Mad Dog tiebacks and Great White. In July BP said it had “firmly established” the Mad Dog field as the third giant field in its GOM portfolio (see Daily GPI, July 20). Mad Dog is in Green Canyon block 826 about 100 miles south of Grand Isle, LA.

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