Heidelberg (GC859) - Anadarko

Heidelberg (GC859) - Anadarko Oil and Gas Project Profile

Location

The Heidelberg (GC859) oil and gas project is located in the southern part of the Green Canyon protraction area in the U.S. Central Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, it is about 140 miles (225 km) offshore Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and covers Green Canyon blocks 859, 860, 903, 904, and 948.

Coordinates

The exact coordinates for the Heidelberg field are 27.091, -90.8115 (WGS 84).

Water Depth

The project is situated in approximately 5,300 feet (1,615 meters) of water.

Discovery and Development

• Discovery Year: The Heidelberg field was discovered in 2009 by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. The discovery well encountered more than 200 feet (60 meters) of net oil pay in high-quality Miocene sands.
• Appraisal Drilling: Appraisal drilling began in late 2011, with the Heidelberg-2 appraisal well encountering around 250 feet (76 meters) of net oil pay in February 2012. Further appraisal confirmed the oil/water contact was 700 feet (213 meters) deeper than initially thought, indicating a larger field.
• Project Sanction: The project was formally sanctioned in mid-2013.

Infrastructure and Production

• Platform: The field is developed using a standalone truss spar, similar to Anadarko's Lucius (KC 875) spar, as part of a 'design one, build two' approach. This approach reduced the project lead time by 10-12 months.
• Production Capacity: The truss spar has a capacity of more than 80,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) and 2.3 million cubic meters per day (81 million cubic feet per day) of natural gas.
• Wells: The project includes six production wells, with two drill centers located in GC859 and GC903. Initial production began with three wells in January 2016, and additional wells were brought online subsequently.
• Flowlines and Export Lines: The development includes dual-looped 8-inch flowlines and 16-inch oil and gas export lines.

Reserves and Production

• Estimated Resources: The Heidelberg field is estimated to hold 200-400 million barrels of recoverable oil resources.
• Remaining Reserves: As of 2019, the remaining reserves were approximately 19.9 million barrels of oil and 237.86 million cubic meters of gas.
• Cumulative Production: By 2019, the field had produced 31.8 million barrels of oil and 402.1 million cubic meters of gas.
• Annual Production: In 2020, the field produced 2.65 million barrels of oil per year and 32.98 million cubic meters of gas per year. By 2022, production had adjusted to 1.35 million barrels of oil per year and 21.47 million cubic meters of gas per year.

Ownership and Operator

• Operator: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is the operator of the Heidelberg field.
• Ownership: Anadarko initially held a larger stake but entered into a carried-interest arrangement, conveying a 12.75% working interest to reduce its capital burden. As a result, Anadarko retained a 31.5% working interest while other partners, including Cobalt International Energy, hold the remaining interests.

Financial and Risk Management

• Capital Costs: Anadarko entered into a carried-interest arrangement worth $860 million to cover nearly all of its expected capital requirements through the anticipated first oil date. This arrangement helped mitigate project risk and limit capital exposure.

Production Timeline

• First Oil: Initial oil and gas production commenced on January 19, 2016, ahead of the expected second-quarter timeline.
• Additional Development: Two additional development wells were planned and drilled in 2016 to increase production over time.

Geology

• Reservoir Characteristics: The discovery well and subsequent appraisal wells encountered high-quality Miocene sands with significant net oil pay. The oil/water contact was found to be deeper than initially thought, indicating a larger field.