BHP Strikes Oil at Caicos in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
BHP Billiton Ltd. said Wednesday it had encountered oil in multiple horizons at the Caicos exploration well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Drilled to a total depth of 30,803 feet, the well is located at Green Canyon Block 564 approximately 100 miles of Louisiana, said Steve Pastor, BHP Billiton president of petroleum operations, at an investor briefing in London.
BHP will drill the well using the Deepwater Invictus (UDW drillship), BHP Billiton spokesperson Bronwyn Wilkinson told Rigzone. Wilding is located in a block adjacent to Caicos, one of several discoveries in the central Gulf of Mexico Miocene, according to a BHP Billiton presentation.
Pastor said the company was encouraged by the Caicos results and is moving to further appraise the area. With success at Caicos and Shenzi North, BHP Billiton continues to be optimistic around the opportunity for a commercial development in the area, Pastor told investors.
In August 2015, the company encountered hydrocarbons in the second of two Shenzi North sidetrack wells it had drilled in the U.S. Gulf, according to the company's Oct. 21, 2015 report for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2015.
Next month, BHP Billiton will drill the Wilding well, Pastor stated.
The company has a “rich portfolio of brownfield project options,” with total capital expenditure of $2.5 billion and an average IRR [internal rate of return] of 45 percent that will help offshore declining fields, Pastor told investors. Thanks to significant improvements in capital efficiency, major capital projects like Mad Dog 2 are now economically attractive, even below $50 per barrel of oil, Pastor added.
Earlier this year, the company reported it would focus its petroleum exploration program on three conventional deepwater basins: the Gulf of Mexico, the Northern Beagle sub-basin offshore Western Australia, and the Caribbean. BHP said it would invest $900 million in financial year 2017, starting July 1.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- ExxonMobil Racks Up Discoveries in Guyana Block Eyed by Chevron
- Oil Market Sentiment Has Improved Significantly
- EU, US Eye Collaboration on Nuclear Materials
- USA Driving Activity to Increase to All-Time Highs
- TC Energy to Sell Prince Rupert Gas Pipeline Project to First Nation
- EU Electricity Export to Ukraine Up 94 Percent in Two Years
- China Coal Output Falls for First Time since Government Ordered More
- BP Pulse Buys One of Europe's Largest Truck Stops
- UK CCUS Plans Outdated: Think Tank
- North America Enters Rig Loss Streak
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- EIA Drops 2024 Henry Hub Gas Price Forecast
- EIA and Standard Chartered Offer Up Latest Oil Price Predictions
- Red Sea Region Sees Another Watershed Incident
- Chevron Oil Project in Kazakhstan to Cost $48.5B
- OPEC Voices Encouragement after IEA Affirms Support for Oil Security
- Biden Govt Bares Strategy for Freight Charging, Hydrogen Fueling Infra
- Rystad Looks at the Buzz Around White Hydrogen
- Ukraine Hits Third Russian Refinery In Escalating Drone Strikes
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Is Peak Oil Demand Close?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Reveal Latest Oil Price Forecasts
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Rystad Forecasts Net Production of Top Permian Producers in 2024
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension