HOME PAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS, Print Editions, Newsletter PRODUCTS READ THE PETROLEUM NEWS ARCHIVE! ADVERTISING INFORMATION EVENTS PETROLEUM NEWS BAKKEN MINING NEWS

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
June 2007

Vol. 12, No. 24 Week of June 17, 2007

Noble scores another deepwater discovery

Exploration and production independent Noble Energy has scored what looks like another commercial discovery in deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The BP-operated Isabela discovery well, located beneath 6,500 feet of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 562, encountered hydrocarbons in “two high-quality reservoirs,” the company disclosed June 6.

“Isabela is an important discovery for us, which could add production as early as late 2009,” said Chuck Davidson, Noble’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Noble has a 33.33 percent working interest in the discovery. BP holds the remaining 66.67 percent interest.

The well, drilled to a depth of about 19,100 feet, was temporarily suspended pending development operations, the company said, noting that the most likely development concept for the Isabela project is a sub-sea tieback to BP’s nearby Na Kika production facility.

Noble said it also acquired an interest in adjacent acreage near the Isabela discovery with additional exploration potential.

When combining Isabela with upcoming development projects at Lorien, Ticonderoga, Swordfish and Raton-Redrock, Noble’s deepwater program “is well positioned to contribute strong production for several years to come,” Davidson said.

Noble’s deepwater program currently represents about 15 percent of the company’s worldwide production.

The Isabela prospect is situated roughly 150 miles southeast of New Orleans, La. The exploration well was spud Feb. 28.

Last January Noble announced a fast-track sub-sea development of a natural gas interval discovered at the company’s Raton prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 292, with first production from the zone expected during the first half of 2008.

In May 2006, Noble announced that it had entered into a purchase and sale agreement to sell its Gulf of Mexico continental shelf assets to Coldren Resources for $625 million.

This year the company plans to spend $1.42 billion on capital projects versus $1.87 billion in 2006, including $520 million in acquisitions.

About 26 percent of the company’s capital program for this year has been allocated for “exploration opportunities,” including lease acquisitions and seismic studies, and 74 percent is dedicated to production, development and other projects.

Noble’s domestic program of $1.09 billion represents about 77 percent of the company’s 2007 capital program, and international expenditures are $300 million, or 21 percent.

—Ray Tyson






Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469 - Fax: 1-907 522-9583
[email protected] --- http://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©2013 All rights reserved. The content of this article and web site may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law subject to criminal and civil penalties.