Boomvang Achieves First Production From Subsea Wells

Kerr-McGee's Boomvang field, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, achieved first production on June 24 from the first of three subsea wells.

The current well is performing as expected with a rate of 50 million cubic feet/day (mmcf/d). The second subsea well will begin production later this week and Boomvang field is expected to ramp up to a peak rate of 160 mmcf/d of gas and 32,000 barrels of oil/day (bo/d) by second quarter 2003. Kerr-McGee operates Boomvang with 30% interest. Other working interest owners are Enterprise Oil, 50%, and Ocean Energy Inc., 20%. Enterprise's interests were recently acquired by Shell.

Located in 3,450 feet of water, the Boomvang area, which includes East Breaks blocks 642, 643 and 688, was developed with the "twin" of the world's first truss spar installed at the Nansen field, nine miles away. The new spar design, featuring an open truss structure, enhances the spar's stability while reducing size and cost. Estimated reserves at Boomvang are in the range of 70 million to 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.

"The start-up of Boomvang marks another milestone for Kerr-McGee, as we continue to implement our strategic plan of developing core areas in high- potential trends," said Kenneth W. Crouch, senior vice president, oil & gas exploration and production. "First production occurred less than 24 months after project sanctioning, a notable achievement for a major deepwater development. Construction is currently under way on our third truss spar, which will be used to develop another deepwater hub in the gulf -- the Gunnison field. We expect first production at Gunnison in early 2004."

The Boomvang facility, named the Kerr-McGee Global Producer VI, is designed for daily production capacity of 40,000 bo/d and 200 mmcf/d.

At the twin Nansen spar, Kerr-McGee has finished the first of nine expected dry tree completions. Production from the Nansen field has now increased to nearly 20,000 bo/d and 90 mmcf/d. The company expects future well completions at Nansen to be added at the rate of about one every 45 days increasing gross production to more than 40,000 bo/d and 90 mmcf/d by year-end. In addition, the company has also completed the successful tie-in to the Nansen facility of the subsea line from the satellite Navajo field. Navajo is currently producing an additional 50 mmcf/d through the Nansen spar. Kerr-McGee operates Nansen and Navajo with 50% interest. Ocean Energy holds the remaining interest in both fields.

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