The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

APC had good news and bad news last week. Investors focused on
the bad news—a dry hole in the Ivorian basin—and sent the shares
down about 5% on Thursday; shares recovered partially on Friday.

Opinions are all over the map about the ramifications of the dry hole
in the Ivorian basin. APC bears say the dry hole nullifies the premise
of a 750-mile oil-rich zone bookended by Jubilee on the east and Venus
on the west (see map in #msg-41611804), while APC bulls say that one
dry hole in an area known to have hydrocarbons is not unduly troubling.
Opinions by the readers of this board are welcome!

A detailed map of the Jubilee field and the Mahagony-4 well is available at:
http://www.anadarko.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Mahogany4.pdf

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Anadarko-Provides-West-Africa-bw-834299340.html?x=0&.v=1

›Anadarko Provides West Africa Deepwater Exploration Update

2:10 am EDT, Thursday October 15, 2009

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) today announced another successful appraisal well in the West Cape Three Points Block offshore Ghana. The Mahogany-4 well, which is the eastern-most appraisal of the Jubilee field, encountered more than 140 net feet of predominately oil pay in high-quality, stacked reservoir sands. The well is located approximately 5 miles east of the original Mahogany-1 discovery well and about 2.5 miles northeast of the Mahogany-3 appraisal and Mahogany Deep discovery well.

“The encouraging results of the Mahogany-4 appraisal well build upon our successful delineation program that continues to extend the potentially productive area of the Jubilee field beyond the existing unit boundaries,” said Bob Daniels, Anadarko Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Exploration. “The well intersected the main Jubilee reservoir and also encountered new deeper oil sands that the partnership plans to evaluate through future exploration and drilling activity.”

Reservoir fluid samples recovered from the well indicate an oil gravity of approximately 35 degrees API. The well was drilled to a total depth of about 12,000 feet in approximately 3,540 feet of water by the “Atwood Hunter” semi-submersible drilling rig. Once the rig completes operations at Mahogany-4, it will move to drill a development well in the Jubilee field, followed by appraisal wells to delineate the nearby Odum and Tweneboa discoveries. The partnership also recently spud the Mahogany Deep-2 well in the West Cape Three Points Block. This well is an appraisal of the Mahogany Deep discovery announced earlier in 2009, as well as a test of the Jubilee field’s southern extent.

Anadarko holds a 30.875-percent interest in the West Cape Three Points Block. Kosmos Energy [the company XOM is reportedly buying] is the block operator and also holds a 30.875-percent interest. Other partners include Tullow (22.896 percent), Sabre (1.854 percent), The E.O. Group, a Ghanaian oil and gas company, (3.5 percent) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (10-percent carried interest).

[The above is the good news… now for the bad…]

In Cote d’Ivoire, the company announced that the South Grand Lahou exploration well in block CI-105 offshore Cote d’Ivoire reached the targeted objective and found it to be water-bearing [i.e. a dry hole]. The well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 14,900 feet in about 6,100 feet of water.

“To date, we have enjoyed tremendous success in our West African Cretaceous program,” said Daniels. “The South Grand Lahou exploration well, which was drilled in less than 20 days, did not encounter hydrocarbons, but it does provide us with an important calibration point within the trend. We plan to incorporate the data into our models as we evaluate our 2010 program that will continue to mature the more than 30 additional identified prospects and leads in the trend.”

Anadarko operates South Grand Lahou with a 50-percent working interest. Co-owners in the block include Tullow (22.3-percent working interest), Petroci Holding (15-percent working interest) and Thani (12.6-percent working interest).

The company now needs to mobilize the Belford Dolphin drillship to Mozambique to begin its drilling program obligation with the Windjammer prospect. Anadarko holds a 42-percent working interest and is the operator. Windjammer will be the first deepwater exploration well to be drilled offshore Mozambique.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by exploring for, acquiring and developing oil and natural gas resources vital to the world’s health and welfare. As of year-end 2008, the company had approximately 2.3 billion barrels-equivalent of proved reserves, making it one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies. For more information about Anadarko, please visit www.anadarko.com.‹