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Companies differ on what to do with Spiderman
Petroleum News
Aggressive independent Spinnaker Exploration is not quick to accept partner Anadarko Petroleum’s apparent plans to tie last week’s announced Eastern Gulf of Mexico Spiderman discovery into a proposed central production facility that would service at least four other deepwater gas fields, two of them owned 100 percent by Anadarko.
While moving Spiderman production to a hub supported by the Southern Producers Group would be “one logical alternative,” Spinnaker is looking at other options as well that include developing Spiderman as a possible standalone development, if appraisal drilling proves up a large enough reserve, the company said Nov. 13.
Spinnaker said, without elaborating, that sending the production “to several (other) planned development projects near Spiderman” is another alternative being explored by the company, which holds a minority 18.33 percent working interest in Spiderman.
In addition to Spiderman, Spinnaker maintains a position in six prospects in the Eastern Gulf, several of them close to Spiderman and with the “same characteristics” as Spiderman, the company said, adding that it “could have considerable reserves to work with.”
Anadarko, which operates Spiderman with a 45 percent interest, said in a joint company statement mentioning Spinnaker and Anadarko’s other partner, Dominion Exploration and Production (36.67 percent), that “Spiderman is expected to be tied back as a satellite to a hub production facility” that would include its Jubilee and Atlas gas discoveries.
“We believe our existing discoveries support a commercial project, and with each new discovery, the economics of producing from the Eastern Gulf just get better and better,” said Jim Emme, Anadarko’s vice-president of exploration. Is it oil or gas? Oddly, on the same day Anadarko said Spiderman production likely would be headed to a gas hub, the company said it had not yet established whether the reservoir contained primarily oil or gas. That would require further testing, the company said. Anadarko said it also would not discuss reserve estimates because that would require additional drilling to establish field size.
Anadarko did say that with more than 140 feet of net pay in two primary zones encountered by the discovery well, Spiderman met “pre-drill expectations.” But Spinnaker said that based on log analysis, the discovery “exceeds Spinnaker’s pre-drill estimates for pay thickness.” Spinnaker calls Spiderman ‘significant discovery’ Spinnaker said its pre-drill estimate for Spiderman was 345 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent, and characterized Spiderman as a “significant discovery.” Anadarko would not disclose its pre-drill estimate for the prospect.
Spiderman’s recent history dates back to late 2001 and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 181, the first held in the region in some 13 years. Anadarko, the sale’s big winner, was in direct competition with bidding partners Spinnaker and Dominion on several tracts, including what turned out to be Anadarko’s Spiderman prospect on DeSoto Canyon Block 621 and Spinnaker-Dominion’s Amazon prospect on adjoining Block 620. The three companies formed a new partnership because Spiderman and Amazon are one and the same prospect, covering both DeSoto Canyon blocks. Anadarko calls the prospect Spiderman and Spinnaker calls it Spiderman-Amazon.
In addition to Jubilee, Atlas and possibly Spiderman, Kerr-McGee-operated Merganser and BHP-operated Vortex are candidates to feed the proposed gas hub in Atwater Valley. Anadarko says the fields have enough combined gas reserves to meet a minimum economic threshold of 500 billion cubic feet. And the field owners are currently bidding for the right to operate the facility.
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