Genghis Khan Development, Gulf of Mexico, USA

In October 2007, BHP Billiton brought its Genghis Khan development into production. The field is located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, approximately 120 miles (192km) off the coast of Louisiana It lies in the western flank of the Shenzi structure, which is located on the adjacent blocks.

The water depth is approximately 4,300ft (1,307m). Estimated gross hydrocarbon reserves have been put in the range from 65 to 170 million barrels of oil equivalent.

GENGHIS KHAN DEVELOPMENT

The field was discovered in 2005 on GC 652 with well K1-1 drilled by Anadarko with semisub Noble's Paul Romano and completed by GlobalSantaFe's ultra-deepwater semisubmersible CR Luigs.

The field is located within three miles of Anadarko's Marco Polo production platform, and development of the reserves at Genghis Khan will proceed through subsea wells and using the pipeline infrastructure already in place. Production will then be transported via pipeline to Ship Shoal 332 and ultimately to Texas and Louisiana markets. This oil will be sold as a blend with crude oils from other pipeline shippers.

BHP Billiton is the operator of both Genghis Khan and Shenzi and holds a 44% interest in the six-block unit (Green Canyon blocks 608, 609, 610, 652, 653 and 654). Hess and Repsol each own 28%.

The group acquired the interest in Genghis Khan from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in February 2007, for $1.33bn. This project allows the operator to optimize the development of the reserves, providing flexibility in selecting well locations, production facilities and the pace of development to capture the most value possible over the expected 25 to 30-year life of the field.

Production commenced from a single well tied into a subsea manifold located on Green Canyon block 652. This was provided by FMC. Development may include up to seven wells to fully produce recoverable reserves from the field.