BP discovers new gas in Trinidad
27 Oct 2000
BP has discovered a major new natural gas field offshore Trinidad and Tobago.
The initial well on the Red Mango field, located 35 miles east of Galeota Point, indicated gas volumes of some three trillion cubic feet and 90 million barrels of oil condensate, making it the largest discovery yet made in Trinidad and Tobago and BP's second major gas find in the area this year.
In oil equivalent terms, the discovery is estimated to contain resources of some 630 million barrels. The company said it will shortly begin appraisal work to define the exact size of the find.
Summarising highlights from an upstream presentation to oil analysts in Houston, the company also confirmed two further oil discoveries offshore Angola in the past two months.
The first, Saxi-1, in block 15 where BP has a 26.67 per cent stake and ExxonMobil is operator. The second, Perpetua-1 in block 17, is operated by TFE with BP holding a 16.67 per cent stake.
In the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, BP said it had to date discovered resources estimated at 3.5 billion barrels and its deepwater production is currently running at some 200,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent. Output is targeted to double by 2004 and to hit around 750,000 barrels a day by 2007.
BP also disclosed a strong drive to grow its North American gas position, as part of a three-year target – outlined to analysts last July – to grow worldwide gas production by between eight and ten per cent a year.
It plans to spend an annual $1.5 billion to find and develop North American gas – from an intended overall exploration and production spend in the US and Canada of $3 billion a year over the next three to four years.
