Oslo: Statoil has found oil at its Miocene Yeti prospect in the Gulf of Mexico the Norwegian multinational oil and gas giant announced on Thursday. And if signs from surrounding fields are an indicator this could be a big one.
The find, about 220 miles southwest of New Orleans, was drilled with the Maersk Developer drilling rig, a sixth generation semi-submersible.
While Statoil operates the Yeti prospect and owns a 50 percent interest, it also has partners in the form of Anadarko Petroleum Corp (with a 37.5% share) and Samson Offshore (12.5%).
Statoil said several successful discoveries nearby indicate Yeti could have a big payout. It targets oil in the well-explored Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Yeti discovery expands the proven sub-salt Miocene play further south and west of the Big Foot field,” Jez Averty, Statoil’s senior vice president, exploration for North America said on Thursday. “We are analysing data to determine the size of the discovery in order to consider future appraisal options.”
