Anadarko hits pay in GoM deepwater

July 29, 2009
Anadarko Petroleum has hit pay with the Vito exploration well on Mississippi Canyon block 984 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore staff

HOUSTON -- Anadarko Petroleum has hit pay with the Vito exploration well on Mississippi Canyon block 984 in the Gulf of Mexico. The company reports that the well encountered more than 250 net ft (76 m) of oil pay in subsalt Miocene sands.

The rig Noble Amos Runner drilled the well to a total depth of approximately 32,000 ft (9,754 m) in 4,038 ft (1,231 m) of water. Once operations are complete at Vito, the company plans to move the rig to continue drilling operations at its operated Caesar/Tonga development in the Green Canyon area of the GoM.

“We are very excited with the initial results encountered at the Vito well,” says Bob Daniels, Anadarko Sr. VP of worldwide exploration. “We expect to drill two additional prospects that are targeting similar subsalt Miocene objective sections along this trend at our Silverado and Haleakala prospects in Mississippi Canyon in 2010. In the meantime, the partners will continue evaluating the data from Vito and the timing of an appraisal well.”

Anadarko operates the Vito well with a 20% working interest. Co-owners in the discovery include Shell Offshore with a 55% working interest and StatoilHydro USA E&P with a 25% working interest. Shell will assume operatorship of Vito after rig release on the current well.

07/29/2009