By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Oct. 25 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, agreed to farm into 95 deepwater blocks held by BP Exploration & Production Inc. in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon areas of the Central Gulf of Mexico.
Anadarko said the blocks make up an area known as South Auger, which is part of a 640-block area of mutual interest where the two companies will license and reprocess 3-D seismic data. The blocks are in 3,000-6,000 ft of water; most targets are deep subsalt objectives.
Anadarko will have the option to earn 33%-66% interest in BP's 100% stake in the South Auger area blocks. The rest of the blocks in the area of mutual interest are either unleased or have been leased by other companies, said Anadarko.
Anadarko will fund the licensing and reprocessing of 3D seismic data. The company also will pay a disproportionately larger share of the first four wells drilled.
John Seitz, Anadarko president and chief operating officer, said, "By partnering with BP in this area, we can leverage our subsalt, shallow water expertise with BP's deepwater experience to provide a greater range of drilling discovery opportunities for both companies. We're already participating in drilling a deepwater Gulf of Mexico exploration well, Blues Image, with BP under a separate agreement, and we have partnered with them in other exploration areas, such as the foothills of Alaska and offshore Nova Scotia."
Also as part of the deal, BP agreed to assign Anadarko its rights in eight blocks near Anadarko's Marco Polo discovery on Green Canyon Block 608. Anadarko is working on development plans and options to commercialize this discovery.
