Trident fact sheet
Leases Alaminos Canyon 903, 904 and 947
As part of the Western Lease Sale 210, Rocksource was awarded Alaminos Canyon (AC) 903, 904 and 947 leases. The leases lie in approximately 9700’ of water within the Perdido Fold Belt and contain the Lower Tertiary Trident Field which was discovered in 2001.
Trident Field Lease History
| Lease | Lease Round | Operator | Winning Bid |
| AC 903 | 171 (1998) | Unocal | $21.8mm |
| AC 904 | 171 (1998) | Chevron | $7.2mm |
| AC 947 | 171 (1998) | Unocal | $37.4mm |
The lease primary term expired in 2008 when they were returned to the MMS.
Exploration history
The first exploration well in the Lower Tertiary play was the Baha 1 well which was drilled in AC 557 in 2001. The well found sub-commercial hydrocarbons but proved a working petroleum system for the area. The second well in the area was the AC 903, Unocal 1 well which found approximately 300’ of pay in the Wilcox Formation and discovered the Trident Field. The well was also drilled at a much lower cost than the previous Baha 1 well, taking 66 days to drill and costing approximately $34mm, proving that cost effective drilling could be achieved in the ultra deep Gulf of Mexico. In 2002, a third discovery, Great White, was made in AC 857. Further discoveries were made in the trend through 2002 and 2003, extending the trend 250 miles to the east. The only production test in the Lower Tertiary has been the Jack#2 well which was tested in 2006 and flowed 6000 bo/d from 40% of the pay section, proving the Wilcox Formation deliverability.
The Trident Field is a large, doubly plunging anticline containing thick turbiditic sandstones of the Lower Tertiary, Wilcox Formation. It was appraised in 2002 by a further 2 wells (AC 903, Unocal 2 and AC 904, Unocal 1). The wells all encountered reservoir sandstones in the Wilcox Formation and light (40 degree API) oil.
| Lease | Well | Water Depth | Spud Date | TD (Measured Depth) |
| AC 903 | Unocal 1 | 9743’ | 3rd May, 2001 | 20,500’ |
| AC 903 | Unocal 2 | 9727’ | 22nd October, 2001 | 20,500’ |
| AC 947 | Unocal 1 | 9672’ | 17th September, 2002 | 19,700’ |
In 2006 the Great White, Silvertip and Tobago Field developments were sanctioned by Shell creating the Perdido Regional Development, a hub development designed to produce 130k boepd from fields within a 30 mile radius. The field will be developed using a spar floating production platform and oil and gas will be exported by pipeline via the Nansen and Diana installations, to shore. First oil is expected in early 2010.
Contact Information
Address:
Thormøhlensgate 53 D
Postboks 994 Sentrum
N-5808 Bergen
Norway
| Phone: | +47 05369 |
| From abroad: | +47 21 49 32 69 |
| Fax: | +47 55 36 87 98 |