Deepwater statistical report: Largest deepwater discoveries by field since 2000

The largest finds above 800 million bbl are spread around Australia, Africa and Southeast Asia, but Brazil has a near-monopoly on medium-sized finds of 500-800 million bbl.

Vol. 228 No. 01

DEEPWATER TECHNOLOGY

Statistical Report

Ian Ashcroft, Wood Mackenzie

The chart on this page shows three large Australian fields, all of which provide more gas than the continent can use domestically. The largest, ExxonMobil�s giant Io/Jansz discovery in the Carnarvon basin, is expected to become the cornerstone of Chevron�s proposed Gorgon LNG development on Barrow Island. The other two are Woodside�s Pluto and Calliance fields, which are primarily gas and slated for LNG export.

Running a distant second to Io/Jansz is Reliance�s Dhirubhai field, located offshore southern India in the Krishna-Godavari basin. Recoverable reserves at Dhirubhai recently doubled following appraisal drilling and the move to a secondary development phase. Moreover, Dhirubhai has considerable upside potential.

Next in size is Akpo field. Operated by Total on behalf of South Atlantic Petroleum, it is one of only two West/Central African discoveries to make the top 20. The other field, Usan, is also Total operated and located offshore Nigeria.

Notable African absentees include Angola and the Nigeria-S�o Tom� JDZ. Most Angolan discoveries in recent years, such as BP�s Block 31 fields, have been relatively small and isolated, albeit large in collective, production contract terms. Chevron�s Obo discovery offshore S�o Tom� is not listed since its size has yet to be fully established. Similarly, two other Chevron discoveries could make the list pending further appraisal. Located close to its Gorgon complex offshore Western Australia, the Clio and Chandon discoveries both have multi-Tcf potential.

By far the most prolific country on the list is Brazil, where Petrobras has made large oil discoveries in Campos (Papa-Terra and Jubarte), Esp�rito Santo (Golfinho) and Santos (Tupi) basins. Tupi is the country�s first major subsalt discovery. It is possible that ultimate recoverable reserves could be much higher than the present estimate of 600 million boe. Tupi also has the greatest water depth, 2,126 m (6,975 ft), of the top 20 discoveries listed and is one of only three discoveries made and/or reported so far in 2006.

Other notable deepwater discoveries in 2006 include Liwan, Husky�s gas discovery in China�s Pearl River basin, and Kaskida, BP�s oil discovery in the Keathley Canyon area of the US Gulf of Mexico.

FROM THE ARCHIVE