Anadarko Hits Natural Gas Off Mozambique, Initiates LNG Study
23 August 2011 - 2:14AM
Dow Jones News
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) said Monday that it had struck
natural gas in a well it drilled to appraise a prospect in the deep
waters off Mozambique.
The results prompted the Houston company to take a significant
step toward possibly developing a natural gas liquefaction facility
to export super-chilled gas from the East African country.
The Barquentine-2 appraisal well found 230 feet of natural gas
play in the Rovuma Basin, the company said. The well, drilled in
5,400 of water, was the first in the Windjammer, Barquentine and
Lagosta complex, which Anadarko believes to hold at least 6
trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
"Our first appraisal of the Barquentine discovery matched our
expectations, confirming our seismic modeling and providing
confidence in our geologic interpretation of this world-class
accumulation," Bob Daniels, Anadarko's senior vice president of
Worldwide Exploration, said in a news release.
With the results, Anadarko and its partners in the
2.6-million-acre Offshore Area 1 block, hired KBR Inc. (KBR) and
Technip (THP.F, TEC.PA) to do preliminary engineering and design
work exploring the potential for a gas export facility.
"Anadarko and partners believe LNG development in Mozambique may
ultimately require as many as six LNG trains," said Simmons &
Co. analyst Bill Herbert. "It remains our understanding that it is
not Anadarko's intention to fund and construct an LNG plant, but
rather have a more seasoned LNG partner come in and build the
plant."
Anadarko has a 36% working interest in the block. Its partners
include Mozambique's national oil company Empresa Nacional de
Hidrocarbonetos, which has a 15% stake, and subsidiaries of Mitsui
and Cove Energy PLC (COV.L), which hold 20% and 8.5% stakes,
respectively.
Anadarko said the appraisal well also showed static pressure
communication between it and a discovery well two miles away. The
company said it will now move the drill ship the south to drill an
exploration well that will also serve to appraise its Windjammer
discovery.
Daniels told investors last week that the company planned to add
a second rig of Mozambique in the fourth quarter. Anadarko, which
holds drilling rights on more than 14 million acres off East
Africa, also has leases over a significant portion of Kenya's deep
waters and plans to drill prospects there next year, Daniels
said.
Shares of Anadarko recently traded 0.35% lower at $65.86.
-By Ryan Dezember, Dow Jones Newswires, 713-560-6670,
ryan.dezember@dowjones.com
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