Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s (APC) Chief Executive said Thursday the independent oil and gas producer is very optimistic about the potential of its new oil discovery off the coast of Sierra Leone and confirmed the existence of an active petroleum system in the area.

"We're very, very excited about the potential this brings," Chief Executive James Hackett told Dow Jones, referring to the Venus discovery, which is the first deepwater test in the Sierra Leone-Liberian Basin.

Venus 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.

With the success of the Venus well at the western limit in Sierra Leone and the 1.2 billion barrel Jubilee field already discovered in Ghana at the eastern limit of the system, Anadarko is highly optimistic about the potential for further discoveries in the area.

"It's a fantastic thing for the company," Hackett said.

But the executive disclosed few details about the implications these discoveries could have for the company. Asked about the possibility that the discoveries would make the Texas-based firm the target of a takeover, Hackett said he is running the company "to be compelling to investors." He declined to comment on the possibility that Anadarko has solicited any interest.

The company, which announced the Venus discovery Wednesday, has not provided yet important details of the resource found, such us the gravity and viscosity of the oil, information that would help to calculate the total potential of the basin.

"This is encouraging but it's just one well," said Bob Fryklund, an oil consultant at IHS Inc. "We need to look and see if these prospects prove up to be commercial."

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%.

Hackett was also upbeat about the potential of Anadarko's properties in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico, where the company has made four discoveries this year.

Anadarko is a leaseholder in the Lower Tertiary trend, a rock bed in the Gulf of Mexico that runs miles below the sea floor. The area was brought into focus early this month when oil giant BP PLC (BP) announced that its Tiber prospect may contain more than 3 billion barrels of oil, one of the biggest discoveries ever in the Gulf of Mexico.

Anadarko is set to drill an appraisal well this month at its Rickenbacker prospect in the Keathely Canyon, where BP's find is located.

"We've got a lot of plays and a lot of drilling to do in that same territory," Hackett said. "It's U.S. oil, and we love that."

Anadarko's shares were trading down 14 cents, or 0.22%, to $67.71.

-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9285; ian.talley@dowjones.com

-By Isabel Ordonez; at Dow Jones Newswires; 713.547.9207; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com

(James Herron in London contributed to this story)