ANADARKO HOLDS SUCCESSFUL FLOW TEST IN ROVUMA BASIN

The Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation on Monday announced the results of its first flow test from the natural gas fields it is exploring in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.  An Anadarko press release said that its Barquentine-2 well “flowed at an equipment-constrained rate of 90 to 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), with minimal pressure drawdown, providing confidence in well designs that are capable of 100 to 200 MMcf/d”.   The test at Barquentine-2 exhibited exceptional flow characteristics, confirmed the deliverability of this reservoir and indicated a low density of development wells may be sufficient to produce the reservoir,' the Anadarko Senior Vice President for Worldwide Exploration, Bob Daniels, said. 'Using pre-set gauges in an offset well, we were able to confirm connectivity and reservoir continuity over a distance of more than 3 kilometres”.  He added that the test “also proves the reservoir has very high permeability, meeting the quality specifications for the partnership's LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) development plans. This is a very encouraging way to start our testing program, which is an important component in the reserve certification process, as we focus on achieving FID (final investment decision) around the end of 2013.'   The Barquentine-2 well is at a water depth of about 1,650 metres. The drillstem test was conducted by the Deepwater Millennium drillship, which Anadarko expects to move to the Barquentine-1 well for a second flow test.   The tests will continue in 2012 further south, in the Lagosta and Camarao areas where Anadarko has also discovered gas. Anadarko is the operator of the Rovuma Basin Offshore Area 1 with a 36.5-percent working interest. Its partners are Mitsui of Japan (20 per cent), BPRL Ventures and Videocon (both of India, with 10 per cent each) and Cove Energy of Britain (8.5 per cent). The Mozambican government is represented by the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) which holds a 15 per cent interest in the fields. So far the Anadarko discoveries amount to an estimated 15 to 30 trillion cubic feet o recoverable natural gas. The company believes that this is the basis for not one, but at least two, LNG plants (known as liquefaction trains) in Cabo Delgado, each producing five million tonnes of LNG a year.   By the end of 2013, Anadarko will have invested three billion US dollars in the Rovuma Basin. If it goes ahead with the LNG plant, total investment could reach 18 billion dollars by 2018, the earliest possible date for starting production.