An aerial view of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
Opportunity Knocks
In the Gulf of Mexico, we are evaluating development concepts and scenarios that could result in project development sanction in 2014 for Appomattox, a deepwater field estimated to contain (net to Nexen) 106 million barrels of oil equivalent of probable reserves.1 We also expect results from high impact exploration wells in offshore West Africa and the UK North Sea. We're also testing significant unconventional exploration opportunities involving tight oil and gas in Poland, and shale gas in Colombia.
Nexen also manages exploration interests on behalf of CNOOC Limited: a 60% equity interest in Northern Cross (Yukon) Ltd., which operates exploration permits in the Yukon in northwestern Canada; and working interests in four Statoil-operated offshore oil exploration prospects in the Gulf of Mexico — 10% interests in Krakatoa, Logan and Cobra and 20% in Tucker.
Did You Know?
We’ve achieved a commercial exploration success rate of 45% from the years 2010 onward, which ranks us in the top 20% of oil and gas explorers worldwide. We’re also outperforming industry in terms of keeping exploration costs low. Our discovery costs are currently averaging about US$3.50 per barrel, compared to the industry average of about US$10 per barrel.
1 For more information about resources and reserves see our legal notice.