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Tuesday, 07 October, 2008, 14:40 GMT | more prices >>

Petrobras steps up at Gulf sale



By Upstream staff 

Photo by GlobalSantaFe


Brazil's state oil company Petrobras said today it had snapped up 26 blocks in the US Gulf of Mexico for $108 million in the US Minerals Management Service’s lease sale yesterday.

The company bought the rights for 20 blocks on its own and for six blocks in partnership with Devon Energy. Two of these will be Petrobras-operated, Reuters reported.

Petrobras said it sought to consolidate its position in areas of the Gulf where it already has exploration activities, particularly in deep-water and ultra deep-water tracts like Walker Ridge.

Other tracts included Mississippi Canyon, Green Canyon, Garden Banks, Keathley Canyon and Lloyd Ridge.

Petrobras has 338 blocks in the Gulf, of which it operates 200. It is a partner in three major fields - Cascade, Chinook and St Malo, in the Walker Ridge quadrant.

Production at Petrobras-operated Cascade Chinook project should start in 2010.

Separately, Houston-based driller Noble said it was the highest bidder for nine deep-water leases on offer at yesterday’s auction of federal leases.

Noble said it bid alone on six blocks and had joined with Samson Offshore in bidding for a further three blocks in which it will hold a 50% stake. It also has options to farm into two other bids.

Noble said its share of lease bonuses on the nine bids was $53.5 million. The company said the blocks covered a total of 48,428 acres in water between 2605 and 7651 feet.

It said it had targeted the Mississippi Canyon, Atwater Valley, Green Canyon, Walker Ridge and Garden Banks areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

Calgary-based Nexen said earlier it had paid about $113 million in bids on 30 offshore blocks in the sale.

The company already holds about 230 leases in the US Gulf deep water, it said.

Houston-based Mariner Energy also said it was high bidder on 23 of the 61 blocks it bid on, at a cost of $66.2 million.

Louisiana-based Stone Energy said it had been high bidder on 16 blocks, of which it had a 100% working interest in 10, a 30% working interest in five blocks in joint bidding with Anadarko Petroleum and a 50% working interest in one block in a joint bid with Samson Offshore.

Stone said it would spend $12.9 million if its high bids were approved.

Bids are still subject to approval by the Minerals Management Service, which oversees exploration and production in federal waters.


Thursday, 04 October, 2007, 22:43 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 04 October, 2007, 22:55 GMT

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