Kerr-McGee Corp. led into Sale 182 with announcement that it had made three oil and gas discoveries on separate fault blocks in its core East Breaks area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Combined reserves of the three, designated Navajo field, are 20-30 million bbl of oil equivalent, 60% gas.
The discoveries are on the Navajo, West Navajo, and Northwest Navajo prospects on East Breaks blocks 690, 689, and 646, respectively.
Navajo field is in 4,000 ft of water 5 miles south of Nansen field, where production began in January 2002 through the world's first truss spar facility (OGJ Online, Feb. 1, 2002). Working interests in Navajo and Nansen are Kerr-McGee and Ocean Energy Inc., Houston, 50% each. Development of Navajo is under way as a subsea tieback to Nansen.
The Navajo wells encountered more than 640 ft of net true vertical thickness of pay in four separate pay sands. Navajo field is expected to start up in the second quarter of 2002 at 50 MMcfd of gas from one well. Production from the other two wells is expected in early 2003.
