Tullow, Anadarko Sierra Leone Oil Find Signals Huge Potential
September 16 2009 - 08:14AM
Dow Jones News
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC.LN) and Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN)
said Wednesday they have discovered oil off the coast of Sierra
Leone, a find that analysts say signals huge potential for further
discoveries in an area stretching east through the waters of
Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire into Ghana.
"The Venus discovery confirms the existence of an active
petroleum system in the basin and enhances the prospectivity of our
vast West Africa acreage position," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko's
senior Vice President of Worldwide Exploration.
With the large Jubilee field already discovered in Ghana at the
eastern limit of the system and the success at the Venus well at
the western limit in Sierra Leone, "we have established bookends
spanning approximately 1,100 kilometers across two of the most
exciting and highly prospective basins in the world," he said.
"If you've got hydrocarbons at two extremes, there's a good
chance of hydrocarbons being in the middle," said Panmure Gordon
analyst Peter Hitchens. "There is a huge amount of acreage and a
large number of prospects," which could yield positive news flow
for both Tullow and Anadarko for the next 18 months, he added.
The Venus B-1 well was drilled to a total depth of approximately
18,500 feet in about 5,900 feet of water and encountered more than
45 net feet of hydrocarbon pay, Anadarko said. It is the first
deepwater test in the Sierra Leone-Liberian Basin.
Anadarko operates the Venus well with a 40% interest. Its
co-owners are Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL.AU) of Australia with
25%, Spain's Repsol YPF SA (REP.MC) with 25% and Tullow with
10%.
The find is big for Tullow, whose shares rose more than 6% on
the news, because it's a significant holder of exploration acreage
in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, where it is
operator of the 1.2 billion barrel Jubilee field.
At 1132 GMT, Tullow shares were up 6%, or 65 pence, at 1152p.
Andarko shares had not yet started trading.
-By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; james.herron@dowjones.com