Hadrian South, a natural gas-rich prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), has started up with full capacity targeting gross production of 300 MMcf/d of natural gas and 3,000 b/d of liquids, operator ExxonMobil Corp. said Monday.

At 230 miles offshore in the red hot Keathley Canyon (KC), the development is ExxonMobil’s deepest subsea tieback in the GOM in 7,650 feet of water. The system connects with flowlines to the Anadarko Petroleum Corp.-operated Lucius truss spar, which started producing in January (see Daily GPI,March 23). ExxonMobil holds a 46.7% stake in Hadrian South and a 23.3% interest in Lucius.

“Successful deepwater projects like this are a result of ExxonMobil’s disciplined project execution capabilities and commitment to developing quality resources using advanced technology,” said ExxonMobil Development Co. President Neil W. Duffin. “Cooperating closely with Lucius operator, Anadarko, has facilitated the development of a deepwater resource that may not have been possible using a standalone approach.”

With the startup of Hadrian South and Lucius, ExxonMobil’s total GOM production capacity has increased by more than 45,000 boe/d net, management said.

About six years ago, ExxonMobil encountered 200 feet of natural gas pay at the Hadrian South prospect in KC 964, which is in Pliocene sandstone reservoirs. The discovery well, Hadrian-2, was drilled in 2008 and the appraisal well, the Hadrian-4 sidetrack, was completed in 2009. ExxonMobil hit net oil pay at the twin KC prospect, Hadrian North, four years ago (see Daily GPI, June 9, 2011).

The Irving, TX-based supermajor operates and has a half-interest in KC 918, KC 919, KC 963 and KC 964. Petrobras America Inc. holds the remaining stake in KC 918. Eni Petroleum US LLC and Petrobras America each hold interests in KC 919, KC 963 and KC 964. Eni has a 30% stake in Hadrian South, while Petrobras controls 23.3%.

ExxonMobil and Anadarko agreed to team up on their big discoveries about four years ago through unitization, which jointly coordinates separate discoveries (see Daily GPI, June, 22, 2011). The Lucius discovery in KC 875 was announced in late 2009 (see Daily GPI, Dec. 11, 2009). It now includes KC 874, 918 and 919. A sidetrack appraisal well south of Lucius appeared to confirm a major discovery five years ago (see Daily GPI, Jan. 28, 2010). Lucius has capacity for up to 450 MMcf/d of gas and 80,000 b/d of liquids.

Natural gas from the KC facilities is to be transported through Williams’ Keathley Canyon Connector, a 20-inch diameter, 209-mile pipe, which terminates into Discovery’ Gas Transmission LLC’s 30-inch diameter mainline. Discovery’s South Timbalier Block 283 facility provides capacity for about 400 MMcf/d of firm service (see Daily GPI, Feb. 10). In addition to Hadrian South and Lucius, Anadarko is sending gas from its Heidelberg prospect into the pipe (see Daily GPI, July 30, 2014).