Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Thursday announced a natural gas discovery at its Atlas prospect in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The discovery well is located on Lloyd Ridge Block 50, about 175 miles southeast of New Orleans.

The Atlas well reached total depth in 21 days, and expected total well costs are between $13 million to $14 million, which was well under Anadarko’s budget. The Houston-based independent holds a 100% interest in the Atlas discovery.

The well was spudded in May in nearly 9,000 feet of water using Transocean’s Deepwater Millennium drillship. It was drilled to the target depth of 19,800 feet and encountered 180 feet of gross pay, portions of which are thin-bedded reservoirs. Operations were suspended because of strong seasonal water currents, but the company intends to resume drilling at Atlas later this year using a sidetrack wellbore to obtain conventional core samples, which will help determine reservoir quality.

To date, Anadarko has made two discoveries — Atlas and Jubilee — out of three wildcat wells drilled in its eastern GOM program. Both discoveries will need to be part of a larger development project in order to be commercially developed. The company plans to drill two more exploration prospects in the eastern GOM also later this year.

Currently, Anadarko holds 374 leases in the GOM, with 165 located in deep water. It also holds options to earn working interests in an additional 122 blocks. In its eastern GOM program, Anadarko has a 100% interest in 38 blocks.

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