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).
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