getting ready, page-3

a follow up

Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
Q1 2010 Earnings Call
May 04, 2010 10:00 am ET


Unidentified Analyst

In the Niobrara, you mentioned that you had 500,000 acres. Obviously industry really talked to play out? You did mentioned that you think that activity as derisk some of the play. When you look at the Niobrara, can you give us a sense of -- of that 500,000, is their a certain percentage of that you think is going to be really good or prospective?

Charles Meloy - Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations

We've been, this is Charles Meloy, by the way. We've been closely monitoring all the industry activity in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming. And as you're aware, we have the land grant that goes through that area. So we essentially have mineral interest in every other section in the play. And so as the play develops from north where we've seen industry activity to write down upon our Wattenberg acreage. Across that entire area, we've seen encouraging results. So all of the 500,000 acres looks perspective. We don't yet know where the sweet spot is because of the lack of activity. We're just starting to cleanup [ph](53:46) the activity in the area. And we've encouraged that activity through some modest farm outs to get the play moving. And so we're prepared and should toward the end of this year begin drilling in the play and reaping the benefits for that.

James Hackett - Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Executive Committee

A thing I add is that, that mineral interest is held in perpetuity to -- so it's not -- we have a lot of time to work on other people's money and do some of our own drilling to make this thing really work well if it has the potential to.