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Spinnaker unveils ‘significant’ discovery U.S. Gulf ultra-deepwater gas find meets pre-drill reserve estimate of 100-125 bcf, will feed into Independence Hub Ray Tyson Petroleum News Houston Correspondent
Independence Hub, scheduled to come on line in 2007, appears to have picked up a ninth “ultra-deepwater” natural gas discovery in the Gulf of Mexico that would help feed the offshore gas-processing facility to be shared by a half-dozen U.S.-based producers.
The discovery well at Spinnaker Exploration’s “Q” prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 961 turned up about 110 feet of “true vertical” gas pay and met pre-drill reserve estimates of 100 billion to 125 billion cubic feet, Spinnaker, the operator, said June 14.
“Spinnaker believes the discovery to be significant to its potential reserves and production,” the company said, adding that the discovery well is currently being sidetracked to an up dip position in the reservoir to test sand continuity.
“If successful, the sidetrack well bore will be cased and utilized for production,” Spinnaker said. Continuous, high quality pay The discovery well encountered pay located in “a continuous, high quality” middle Miocene reservoir at a depth of 17,644 feet, the company said.
Spinnaker and partner Dominion Exploration & Production each hold a 50 percent working interest in the Q prospect, located in nearly 8,000 feet of water roughly 100 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. Well costs are expected to run about $22 million.
The Q field is situated about 12 miles west-southwest of the future Independence Hub production platform, which is being designed to process up to 850 million cubic feet of gas per day from various fields in the eastern Gulf region.
Independence Hub, to be located on Mississippi Canyon Block 920, will be moored in about 8,000 feet of water, qualifying it as the deepest development in the U.S. Gulf. It will process gas from eastern Gulf fields located in nearby Atwater Valley, DeSoto Canyon and Lloyd Ridge.
Spinnaker has participated in two other gas discoveries in the Independence Hub project area, Spiderman and San Jacinto. Other discoveries that will be tied back to Independence Hub are Atlas, Atlas North West, Jubilee, Merganser, Vortex, South Dachsund/Mondo Northwest and possibly Q. In addition to Spinnaker and Q partner Dominion, Anadarko Petroleum, Kerr-McGee, Devon Energy and Murphy Oil hold varying interests in the fields that will be tied back to the hub, and are area members of the so-called Atwater Valley Producers Group. Except for Murphy, group members consist of exploration and production independents.
Marine construction company Cal Dive International took a 20 percent stake in Independence Hub, while Enterprise Products Partners, a leading provider of midstream energy services, was selected by the producers group to design, construct and install the hub, a 105-foot deep draft, semi-submersible platform with a two-level production deck. Owned by Enterprise, operated by Anadarko The platform, estimated to cost $385 million, will be owned by Enterprise and operated by Anadarko, which holds interests in five of the contributing fields. The hub is being designed to handle production from up to 10 additional fields.
Enterprise also will own, install and operate 140 miles of 24-inch pipeline named Independence Trail. The pipeline, estimated to cost $280 million, is to deliver production from Independence Hub into the Tennessee Gas Pipeline located on West Delta Block 68. Key engineering and fabrication contracts for the Independence Hub platform were awarded to Atlanta Offshore, Heerema Marine Contractors, Alliance Engineering, Kiewit Offshore and Allseas USA. Other deepwater wells Earlier this year Houston-based Spinnaker was planning to drill or participate in five deepwater exploration wells in the U.S. Gulf during the balance of 2005, including Q.
The company hoped to spud its 100 percent-owned Egmont prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 413 sometime late in the second quarter or possibly in the third quarter. That prospect could hold around 140 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, or about 20,000 barrels of oil, according to the company. Well costs are expected to total around $20 million.
Perhaps the most expensive exploration well planned by Spinnaker and partner Murphy this year is on their Krakatoa prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 540. Well costs could run $35 million to $40 million, the company said. Pre-drill reserve estimates were pegged at 50 million to 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Spinnaker partner Anadarko plans to drill a third well at the Spiderman field in DeSoto Canyon, an effort that could produce 30-to 35 billion cubic feet of incremental gas reserves. The well is expected to cost between $20 million and $22 million.
Spinnaker and its partners also hope to drill a deep test well at their Front Runner field, which is producing around 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with additional producing wells planned. The test well, which is expected to cost about $35 million, is expected to spud in late 2005 or early 2006.
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