Chevron Hits Pay at Anchor Appraisal
Tuesday 14 March 2017
Chevron has come up trumps with its latest appraisal well on the Anchor discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico, partner Cobalt International Energy has said.
The California-headquartered supermajor struck around 800 feet of net oil pay at the latest well on the Anchor field on Green Canyon Block 807, Cobalt revealed on Tuesday.
The well, spud with the drillship Pacific Sharav, found the pay in "multiple Inboard Lower Tertiary reservours," Cobalt added.
Anchor 4 was the third appraisal of the field, discovered in late 2014. An earlier probe, Anchor 3, was spud in January 2016 in Green Canyon Block 762 to the north-west. It hit total depth in June.
The latest well, which spud in mid-September, was thought to be targeting the Wilcox sands at a permitted depth of about 34,100 feet. Water depth at the well was 4954 feet.
It was reported last week that UK contractor Wood Group is understood to be in pole position to win a pre-front-end engineering and design contract from Chevron on the deep-water Anchor and Tigris developments.
The work will involve the topsides of semi-submersible production facilities for the Chevron project.
The UK-listed engineering player is believed to be the last standing out of a field that also included contenders KBR, Audubon Engineering, EDG and Worley Parsons, with competitors having already received notice, multiple industry sources said.
The pre-FEED work would be expected to run about nine months, and the same contractors could potentially carry over into FEED work to follow in late 2017.
Anchor, hailed by Chevron as a “hub class” discovery, is seen as the stronger of the two finds and would likely proceed first.
Chevron holds a 55% operating stake, with Cobalt on 20%, Samson Offshore on 12.5% and Venari on 12.5%.
Cobalt also owns 100% of two leases on the south flank of Anchor, but outside the Anchor unit. The US independent added in Tuesday's statement: "The Anchor reservoir extends onto these leases and reservoir simulation suggests that additional wells on these two leases are required to maximise recovery from the field.
"Cobalt has engaged with the operator and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement regarding options to bring these two leases into the Anchor unit in order to optimise the development of the field."