Offshore staff

(Oklahoma City)- Kerr-McGee Corp. has raised the estimated resource range of the Chinook discovery offshore Brazil by an additional 250 MMboe. This announcement was made at the company's recent executive briefing in New York City.

This increase is a result of the company's full-field reservoir simulation at the Chinook discovery, which was recently completed. The resource potential in the shallow-water BM-C-7 block has increased from a previous range of 150 to 250 MMboe up to as much as 450 MMboe.

Chief Operating Officer Dave Hager commented: "This is an exciting and meaningful opportunity for Kerr-McGee. The Chinook field has outstanding rock quality, and its potential could expand as we continue our appraisal program to delineate the full extent of the reservoir."

Kerr-McGee has a 50% working interest in the 133,000-acre block located in approximately 350 ft of water, and approximately 125 mi southwest of Rio de Janeiro.

In other offshore developments, Kerr-McGee has moved up the anticipated first oil from its deepwater Ticonderoga field in the GoM. They now expect to begin production in 1Q 2006. Production volumes will be processed through Kerr-McGee'sConstitution spar located on Green Canyon block 680, approximately 190 mi south of New Orleans, LA. Production is expected to ramp up from both Constitution and the Ticonderoga field as additional wells come on line during 2006.

01/20/2006