Inpex Exits Lucius, Hadrian North Fields in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Japanese oil and gas company Inpex has transferred its entire stakes in two U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore oilfields to project partners.

The company has transferred its 10.1% stake in the Lucius Field located in the US Gulf of Mexico’s Keathley Canyon blocks 874,
875, 918 and 919, and the Hadrian North Field located in KC blocks 918 and 919, to Anadarko US Offshore LLC (a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation), Murphy Exploration & Production Company – USA, and Eni.

INPEX joined the Lucius Project in June 2012 and has been engaged in the development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas under the operatorship of Anadarko. 

"However, with a view to optimize the INPEX Group’s global asset portfolio, INPEX reached a decision to transfer its participating interest in the Lucius Project to the project partners. The impact of this matter on INPEX’s consolidated financial results is minimal," Inpex said.

The sale comes after Inpex in 2021 acquired 2.3546% interest in the Lucius and Hadrian North fields previously held by ExxonMobil.

This acquisition increased Inpex's participating interest in the Lucius and Hadrian North fields from 7.75309 percent to 10.10769 percent.

The company at the time said that the "acquisition of additional interest in the Lucius and Hadrian North fields contributes to the sustainable growth of oil and natural gas E&P activities, one of the business targets outlined in the company’s Vision 2040 announced in May 2018." 

The Lucius field is located about 380 kilometers offshore Louisiana, where the water is approximately 2,200 meters deep. Production of crude oil and natural gas at the Lucius Field began in January 2015. The Hadrian North Field, which lies in the vicinity of the Lucius Field, was unitized with the Lucius Field in 2017 and has been jointly developed with the Lucius field using the Lucius field’s spar platform. 

Production of crude oil and natural gas at the Hadrian North Field began in April 2019. The crude oil and natural gas produced from the two fields are processed at a production facility positioned offshore with a daily processing capacity of approximately 80,000 barrels of crude oil and approximately 4.5 million cubic feet of natural gas, transported and shipped to an onshore facility in Louisiana via subsea pipelines.

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