Anadarko group sanctions Lucius truss spar development

A group led by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has sanctioned development of the Lucius deepwater discovery in the Gulf of Mexico using a truss spar with a capacity of 80,000 b/d of oil and 450 MMcfd of gas starting in 2014.

The field’s reserves of more than 300 million bbl of oil equivalent lie in “relatively shallow and highly productive reservoirs that can be developed in a capital-efficient manner” with off-the-shelf technology, Anadarko said. Lucius would be among the company’s most economic projects.

The Lucius unit includes parts of Keathley Canyon blocks 874, 875, 918, and 919. Anadarko, which operates the unit with a 35% working interest, drilled the discovery well in 2009 in 7,100 ft of water.

Anadarko said Lucius “will establish important infrastructure in an emerging area of the Gulf of Mexico where we have identified additional prospects and opportunities. We expect to have an active drilling program in the unit beginning in 2012, and we look forward to working with our partners to achieve first production in 2014.”

Anadarko pioneered truss spar technology in 1997, and Lucius, under construction at Technip’s facility in Pori, Finland, will be the largest of company-operated spars.

Following the previously announced unitization agreement, Lucius interest owners entered into an agreement with the Hadrian South coventurers under which natural gas produced from Hadrian South field will be processed through the Lucius facility in return for a production-handling fee and reimbursement for any required facility upgrades (OGJ Online, July 18, 2011).

Other participants in the Lucius unit include Plains Exploration & Production Co. 23.3%, ExxonMobil Corp. 15%, Apache Deepwater LLC 11.7%, Petrobras 9.6%, and Eni 5.4%.