Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has discovered oil at its West Tonga prospect on Green Canyon block 726 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The discovery well, located in 4,700 feet of water, was drilled to a total depth of 25,680 feet and encountered more than 350 feet of net oil pay in three high-quality subsalt Miocene sands. An Anadarko spokesman said there will likely be some associated gas with the discovery, but he said it was predominately oil. Anadarko operates West Tonga with a 37.5% working interest. Partners in the discovery include StatoilHydro with a 25% working interest, Chevron Corp. with a 20.5% working interest and Shell Exploration with a 17% working interest. “The West Tonga discovery continues the success of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico exploration program and further illustrates the value of our extensive hub-and-spoke infrastructure,” said Bob Daniels, senior vice president of Worldwide Exploration. Anadarko focuses on deepwater prospects in the Miocene and Lower Tertiary plays of the GOM that have estimated recoverable resources of more than 100 MMboe.

A former Anadarko Petroleum Corp. executive received 37 months in jail for embezzling money and filing false income tax forms. Mario M. Garza, 53, was sentenced in Houston by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon. He was ordered to pay $800,000 in restitution and serve three years probation, according to U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle. Garza, who went to work for Anadarko in 1984, originally pleaded innocent but in a plea agreement, he admitted he that he defrauded Anadarko by submitting sham invoices from nonexistent vendors to pay for personal expenses that included a new car. Garza faced up to eight years in prison after originally being indicted on 22 counts of wire fraud and making fax tax return statements. According to officials, Garza headed Anadarko’s Peru business unit beginning in 1996, and he launched his fraudulent scheme there. The indictment noted that Garza continued to defraud Anadarko after the company shuttered the Peru exploration program in 1998, and he apparently continued to submit false invoices to Anadarko into 2003 Garza was fired by the company in 2003.

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