Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
(
APC
) has made an oil and natural gas discovery in the deepwater Tano
Block offshore the Republic of Ghana. The Wawa-1 exploration well
encountered 43 net feet (13 meters) of oil pay and 65 net feet (20
meters) of gas-condensate pay in Turonian-aged reservoirs.
The Wawa-1 exploration well was drilled to a depth of 10,899
feet (3,322 meters) in 1,926 feet (587 meters) of water. The
extracted sample from the well confirmed better-quality oil, which
measures 38 - 44 degrees on the American Petroleum Institute
gravity index ("API"). Once the operation is over, this well will
be suspended for future appraisal and development functions.
Anadarko operates the deepwater Tano Block offshore the Republic
of Ghana jointly with four other companies and has a working
interest of 18%. The working interests of the other co-owners are
Tullow Oil plc (49.95%), Kosmos Energy (18%), Sabre Oil & Gas
Holdings Ltd (4.05%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
(10%).
Anadarko has been actively carrying out exploration activities
in this region. In March 2012, Anadarko's Enyenra-4A appraisal well
encountered more than 105 feet (32 meters) of net oil pay in
high-quality sandstone reservoirs in deepwater Tano Block offshore
the Republic of Ghana.
Anadarko has been operating in Ghana for quite some time and has
achieved drilling success in the TEN (Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme)
complex. In addition, the company plans to start exploration
activities at Okure and Sapele prospects within this year. The
company is continuously improving its overall portfolio on the back
of its drilling successes in Ghana, Mozambique, Ivory Coast and the
Gulf of Mexico.
At present, most of the global oil and gas companies are teaming
up with local players to discover unexplored reserves in Africa and
Asia. Anadarko has also joined this international bandwagon. In
Africa, the company is expanding its operations in deepwater Tano
and West Cape Three Points in Ghana, CI-103 Block in Cote d'Ivoire
("Ivory Coast"), and Block SL-07B-11 in Sierra Leone.
In the first quarter of 2012, Anadarko spent $385 million to
continue with its aggressive exploration activities and invested a
substantial amount to revamp its African operations. In June 2012,
Anadarko's Atum exploration well encountered more than 300 net feet
(92 meters) of natural gas pay in two high-quality Oligocene fan
systems at Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin in Mozambique.
Over the years, there has been a surge in natural gas demand
given its clean burning nature. We expect that power generation
companies will use natural gas as fuel in place of coal. Also,
newly-installed units are more likely to use natural gas as fuel,
thus increasing its consumption.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation currently retains a Zacks #3
Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.
The Woodlands, Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is
primarily engaged in the exploration, development, production,
gathering, processing and marketing of natural gas, crude oil,
condensate and natural gas liquids. The company competes with
Atlas Resource Partners, L.P.
(
ARP
).
ANADARKO PETROL (APC): Free Stock Analysis
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