BP
The supermajor's Tiber Prospect was drilled in Keathley Canyon, a section of the offshore frontier that's been firing imaginations since BP, along with Anadarko Petroleum
The buzz from BP, which didn't release any figures other than the well's water depth and total drilling depth (4,132 feet and 35,055 feet, respectively), is that Tiber is bigger and better than Kaskida. The latter is estimated to contain at least 3 billion barrels of oil in place, with perhaps 500 million barrels recoverable. That's got analysts at UBS thinking that Tiber recoveries will fall in the range of 500 million to 1 billion barrels.
That sounds like a serious haul, but we have to remember what a behemoth BP is. Even if the company's 62% stake (minority partners are Petrobras
While they won't see a dime from Tiber, the companies that may have the most to celebrate today are Anadarko and Devon. Both independents, of much more modest stature than BP, have plenty more prospects in the Keathley Canyon area. Devon, in particular, should be pleased as punch, because it's currently seeking a partner to help shoulder the cost of its pricey deepwater program. The Tiber discovery ought to send more suitors to its door.