Devon Energy Corp. and BP plc exercised their rights of first refusal and blocked Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s plans to sell StatoilHydro a quarter stake in a promising deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) discovery.

Instead, Devon, now with a 26.67% stake, and BP, which will own 73.33%, will share the Kaskida discovery.

Kaskida, which is about 250 miles southwest of New Orleans, is located in the Lower Tertiary trend of the GOM on Keathley Canyon Block 292 in 5,860 feet of water. Anadarko held a nonoperated 25% stake, and the sale to StatoilHydro was part of an agreement announced in March (see Daily GPI, March 5). As joint stakeholders in Kaskida, BP and Devon were given preemption rights.

No financial details were disclosed. StatoilHydro had agreed to pay Anadarko $1.8 billion for the Kaskida Unit interest as well as some assets in Brazil. Anadarko said the Brazil asset sale remained on track.

<> Although still under review, the Lower Tertiary trend and its discoveries to date hold great promise for oil and gas explorers. A discovery well in 2006 encountered 800 net feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands (see Daily GPI, Sept. 6, 2006). BP’s decision to buy a bigger stake in Kaskida indicates “how we feel about the Lower Tertiary,” said a spokesman. “It’s an important resource base.”

Devon’s Stephen J. Hadden, senior vice president of exploration and production, said the Lower Tertiary Trend “is an important part of Devon’s long-term exploration program…” The Kaskida discovery, he said, “is the largest of our four Lower Tertiary discoveries to date.” By 2010, Devon expects to begin production from is Cascade discovery, which also is part of the trend.

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