Kaskida Oil Field

Last updated
Kaskida Oil Field
Country United States
Region Gulf of Mexico
Location Keathley Canyon
Block 291, 292
Offshore/onshore Offshore
Operator BP
Partners BP (70%)
Devon Energy (30%)
Field history
Discovery 2006
Production
Estimated oil in place 3,000 million barrels (~4.1×10^8 t)
Producing formations Lower Tertiary

The Kaskida Oil Field is an offshore oil field located in the Keathley Canyon block 292 of the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico, 250 miles (400 km) south-west of New Orleans, Louisiana. The field is operated by BP, and owned by BP (70%) and Devon Energy (30%). [1]

Keathley Canyon

Keathley Canyon is an undersea canyon in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The canyon is named for the hydrographic survey ship USNS Sergeant George D. Keathley (T-AGS-35).

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Contents

History

The petroleum rights for the block 292 were acquired by BP, Devon Energy and Anadarko Petroleum in a federal lease sale in August 2003. [1] The Kaskida field was discovered in 2006 in a water depth of 5,860 feet (1,790 m). Transocean's drilling rig Deepwater Horizon drilled a well to a total depth of approximately 32,500 feet (9,900 m). [2] Drilling in the block 291, located 5 miles (8.0 km) to the west from the block 292, started in 2008 and oil was found in November 2009. [1]

Anadarko Petroleum American energy company

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in two skyscrapers in The Woodlands, Texas: the Allison Tower and the Hackett Tower, both named after former CEOs of the company.

Transocean offshore drilling contractor

Transocean Ltd. is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Switzerland, Canada, United States, Norway, Scotland, India, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

<i>Deepwater Horizon</i> former offshore oil drilling rig

Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, registered in Majuro, and leased to BP from 2001 until September 2013. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m) in the Tiber Oil Field at Keathley Canyon block 102, approximately 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Houston, in 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water.

Originally BP owned 55%, Anadarko 25%, and Devon 20% of the project. In March 2008, Anadarko agreed to sell its stake to Statoil but BP and Devon exercised their pre-emption rights. BP drilled appraisal wells with the W. Sirius. [1]

Reserves

The Kaskida field is expected to contain 3 billion barrels (480×10^6 m3) of oil in place. It is one of the largest Paleogene discoveries. [1]

Oil in place (OIP) is a specialist term in petroleum geology that refers to the total oil content of an oil reservoir. As this quantity cannot be measured directly, it has to be estimated from other parameters measured prior to drilling or after production has begun.

The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Neogene Period 23.03 Mya. It is the beginning of the Cenozoic Era of the present Phanerozoic Eon. The Paleogene is most notable for being the time during which mammals diversified from relatively small, simple forms into a large group of diverse animals in the wake of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that ended the preceding Cretaceous Period. The United States Geological Survey uses the abbreviation PE for the Paleogene, but the more commonly used abbreviation is PG with the PE being used for Paleocene.

Development

The well in block 291 is drilled by the West Sirius rig, owned Seadrill Offshore. BP plans to start well tests in 2011. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kaskida Field, USA". Offshore-Technology. Net Resources International. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  2. "BP & Partners Make Discovery at Kaskida Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico" (Press release). Anadarko Petroleum. August 31, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2010.