BP reports results of Mad Dog South well in Gulf of Mexico

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 17 -- BP PLC drilled a successful appraisal well in a previously untested southern segment of Mad Dog field in the Gulf of Mexico. The 826-5 well was drilled on Green Canyon Block 826 about 100 miles south of Grand Isle, La., in 5,100 ft of water.

The well found 280 net ft of hydrocarbons in the objective Miocene hydrocarbon-bearing sands and also found an oil column of more than 2,200 ft.

In 2008, BP drilled the A-7 well in the western part of the field, which found a hydrocarbon column of more than 2,500 ft and 275 ft of net pay.

“With these additional hydrocarbon resources in the west and south of the field, Mad Dog has been firmly established as the third giant field in BP’s Gulf of Mexico portfolio, joining Thunder Horse and Atlantis,” said Andy Inglis, BP chief executive officer, exploration and production.

BP is currently reviewing development options to increase production from Mad Dog either through debottlenecking the existing facility or by adding another production facility, the company said.

Mad Dog field, which started production in 2005, utilizes a truss-spar platform that is equipped with facilities for simultaneous production and drilling operations. The facility is designed to process 80,000 b/d of oil and 60 MMscfd of gas.

BP holds a 60.5% working interest in Mad Dog. Other partners are BHP Billiton 23.9% and Chevron Corp. 15.6%.