Deepwater

The $3.5 billion Tahiti project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, which was scheduled to ramp-up in mid-2008, will be delayed for an unknown period because of metallurgical problems discovered in the facility’s mooring shackles, Chevron Corp. said Thursday. Tahiti’s peak production is expected to be 125,000 b/d of oil and 70 MMcf/d of natural gas.

BP Exploration & Production Inc. announced a hydrocarbon discovery in an exploration well that tested its Isabela prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The well is located on Mississippi Canyon Block 562 in 6,500 feet of water, about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans. Isabela was drilled to a total depth of 19,100 feet into Miocene era sands. “Isabela is an excellent addition to our portfolio of discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Dave Rainey, BP’s Vice President of GOM Exploration. “It will likely be tied back to our Na Kika production platform, helping to maximize the value of that infrastructure.” The well is operated by BP with a 67% working interest and is co-owned by Noble Energy Inc. with a 33% working interest. The lease was acquired at in March 1998.

Following an appraisal of its deepwater Droshky prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, Marathon Oil Corp. estimates the discovery holds mean recoverable resource of 80-90 MMboe. The Droshky discovery is located in 2,900 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 244, about 137 miles south-southwest of Venice, LA. The appraisal process consisted of drilling a down dip sidetrack well and a lateral sidetrack well. The wells are about two miles south of the Troika Field Production System. The initial well was drilled to a total depth of 21,190 feet and encountered 250 feet of net oil pay. The down dip appraisal sidetrack encountered more than 600 feet of net oil pay, while the lateral sidetrack encountered 300 feet of net oil pay. All pay intervals are Upper Miocene in age. Marathon expects to produce the field via subsea completions through the Troika system and Bullwinkle Platform, with terms already in place. The timing of initial production will be dependent upon delivery of key equipment (i.e., drilling rig and subsea equipment) and regulatory approvals, but could be as early as 2010. Marathon holds a 100% working interest in the Droshky prospect and a 50% working interest in the Troika unit.

Following an appraisal of its deepwater Droshky prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, Marathon Oil Corp. estimates the discovery holds mean recoverable resource of 80-90 MMboe. The Droshky discovery is located in 2,900 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 244, about 137 miles south-southwest of Venice, LA.

With installation of the Independence Hub production platform in the deepwater of the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) now complete, Enterprise Products Partners LP said it will transfer control to Anadarko Petroleum Corp. as platform operator. The hub, expected to ramp up in the second half of 2007, will be capable of handling up to 1 Bcf/d, which would represent more than a 10% increase in gas deliveries from the GOM (see NGI, Oct. 23, 2006). The producer group is now in the process of installing flowline risers, which will transport production from the subsea wellheads to the hub, and Enterprise is installing the export pipeline riser that will transport natural gas from the platform to the 134-mile Independence Trail pipeline, which was installed in August 2006. Independence Trail will transport up to 1 Bcf/d of natural gas from the hub to the partnership’s West Delta 68 platform, which connects to a third party pipeline to deliver the gas onshore into Louisiana.

The Independence Hub production platform has set sail from Corpus Christi, TX, for a five-day trip to the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), where it will be installed in about 8,000 feet of water — the deepest offshore platform to date. The hub is expected to ramp up in the second half of 2007, with the capacity to increase natural gas production from the GOM by 1 Bcf/d (see Daily GPI, Oct. 23, 2006).

The entire seven-member Connecticut congressional delegation expressed its “strong and united opposition” to Broadwater Energy LLC’s controversial deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in a recent letter to FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher.

The entire seven-member Connecticut congressional delegation expressed its “strong and united opposition” to Broadwater Energy LLC’s controversial deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in a letter Friday to FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher.

Johnnie Burton, director of the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), was involved in a cover-up of the mistakes made in the 1998 and 1999 deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas leases that could cost the federal government billions of dollars over the life of the leases if the contracts are not renegotiated, said a spokesman for a congressman who has been investigating the matter.