Racking up Gulf riches: BP
BP unveils 'giant' Tiber find
UK supermajor BP has made what it claims is a "giant" oil find at the Tiber prospect in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico's Lower Tertiary play.
BP added that an appraisal well is necessary to determine the size and commerciality of the discovery, but it is being viewed in the same light as the existing Kaskida discovery - the biggest yet to be made in the Lower Tertiary play.
Kaskida was discovered in 2006 and is still under appraisal. However, BP has said that Kaskida is believed to hold 3 billion barrels of oil in place.
BP said the Tiber discovery well, drilled in Keathley Canyon Block 102, which is about 250 miles (400 kilometres) south-east of Houston, lies in 4132 feet of water.
The Tiber well was drilled to a total depth of 35,055 feet and hit oil in multiple Lower Tertiary reservoirs. “Tiber represents BP’s second material discovery in the emerging Lower Tertiary play in the Gulf of Mexico, following our earlier Kaskida discovery,” Andy Inglis, BP's chief executive, Exploration & Production, said in a release.
“These material discoveries together with our industry leading acreage position support the continuing growth of our deep-water Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade.”
Tiber is operated by BP with a 62% stake. Its partners are Brazil's Petrobras (20%) and ConocoPhillips (18%).
BP shares, which had been trading down slightly ahead of the statement, jumped to trade up 2.85% at 534.5pence at 0919 GMT, outperforming a 0.88% rise in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index.