Anadarko and El Paso Energy Partners Announce Joint Development for Marco Polo Deep Water Discovery

abarrelfull wrote on 21 Apr 2014 05:54
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Dec 4, 2001

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) and El Paso Energy Partners (NYSE:EPN) announced today an innovative arrangement to jointly develop Anadarko's Marco Polo discovery, using a floating production platform capable of accommodating production from multiple fields.

Marco Polo, Anadarko's first deep water development project, is located on Green Canyon Block 608 about 150 miles offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

"This is a significant development milestone for Anadarko," said John Seitz, Anadarko President and Chief Operating Officer. "This joint arrangement with El Paso Energy Partners allows us to move forward with development of Marco Polo quickly and create a production hub to which other nearby discoveries can be tied. Additionally, Anadarko will benefit from EPN's experience in building deep water platforms."

Anadarko made the Marco Polo discovery in spring 2000 and has drilled a total of two wells and four sidetracks, which encountered between 90 and 360 feet of net oil and gas pay. Anadarko maintains 100 percent working interest in Marco Polo. Recently, the company acquired the rights to explore and develop eight blocks in the Green Canyon area adjacent to the Marco Polo discovery. Anadarko plans to drill up to five wells on the complex of 11 blocks in 2002.

Under the letter of intent, Anadarko and EPN have formed an integrated project team and expect to start awarding pipeline and platform construction contracts immediately. The definitive agreements should be finalized in early 2002. The companies expect to have the facilities completed and online in 2004.

The platform will be stationed in 4,300 feet of water and will function as a hub. EPN will own the platform with Cal Dive International, Inc. (Nasdaq:CDIS) and Anadarko will be the operator. Production capacity will be 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 250 million cubic feet of gas per day. Under the agreement, Anadarko will have firm capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 million cubic feet of gas per day. The remainder of the platform capacity will be available to Anadarko for additional production and/or to third parties that have fields developed in the area.

Oil and gas processed on the platform will be transported through new gathering pipelines owned by EPN to downstream markets. The oil will be transported through a new 34-mile, 14-inch pipeline and EPN's Allegheny oil pipeline to its 50-percent owned Ship Shoal 332 platform where onshore markets can be accessed via EPN's 36-percent owned Poseidon Oil Pipeline System. EPN intends to build a gas pipeline from the Marco Polo platform to a downstream point to be determined by Anadarko.

"We are very pleased to provide these midstream services to Anadarko, one of the premier exploration companies in the U.S.," said Robert G. Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of El Paso Energy Partners. "This arrangement with Anadarko leverages our deepwater platform business that started with the deployment of EPN's Prince Field tension leg platform and extends our oil and gas pipeline infrastructure into deeper water in the Green Canyon area. We believe the installation of the platform and pipeline to serve Anadarko's Marco Polo development will provide critical infrastructure and accelerate development of new oil and gas production in surrounding blocks in this active area of the deep water trend."

Anadarko currently holds 109 deep water leases in the Gulf of Mexico, where it is drilling several high potential deep water wildcat wells. Additionally, the company has a partnership with BP to explore 95 deep water blocks held by BP in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon areas of the Central Gulf of Mexico.

• Anadarko and El Paso Energy Partners Announce Joint Development for Marco Polo Deep Water Discovery

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