By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Jan. 8 -- Kerr-McGee Corp. said Tuesday its directors have approved development of 100% owned Tullich field in the UK North Sea as part of the $890 million capital budget in 2002.
The capital budget for exploration and production will be $780 million, of which $310 million was allocated for the North Sea, $280 million for the Gulf of Mexico, $125 million for the US onshore, and $65 million for other international projects.
Kerr-McGee also budgeted $170 million for worldwide exploration expenses, which is expected to fund the drilling of 20-30 exploratory wells, including 10-15 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Luke Corbett, Kerr-McGee chairman and CEO, said, "We will be completing four major development projects that were started last year, Leadon, Skene, Nansen, and Boomvang. The success of our exploration and appraisal program has resulted in two new developments for this year -- Gunnison in the Gulf of Mexico, and Tullich in the UK sector of the North Sea. We believe our drilling expertise and large inventory of worldwide drillable prospects will bring continued exploration success and new developments in the coming years."
Gunnison is due to come on stream in early 2004 and Tullich in late 2002.
Tullich is being developed as a four-well horizontal subsea tie-back to the company-operated Gryphon A facility. In 370 ft of water, Tullich is 3 miles southeast of Gryphon in Quadrant 9 (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2001).
Kerr-McGee said Tullich reserves are 40 million boe. Peak production will be 24,000 boe/d. The development is subject to approval by the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
The Oklahoma City-based company budgeted capital expenditures for chemical operations at $90 million in 2002. Corporate capital expenditures will use the remaining $20 million.
Corbett said, "The capital expenditures for our chemical business will allow us to enhance the cost-effectiveness of these operations and maximize their earnings as we continue to grow this business."