Devon and BP think the Kaskida discovery is so significant that they're not willing to give up any piece of the pie. The two explorers decided to pay the price on a right of first refusal when Norwegian NOC StatoilHydro inked a deal to buy out partner Anadarko's 25% interest in the deepwater GOM project. Statoil was to buy Anadarko's 50% part of the offshore Brazil Peregrino discovery and its Kaskida interest for up to $2.1 billion total. The Peregrino deal is still on. Kaskida--for Statoil--is out. The companies would not break out the consideration to be paid for each part, but Anadarko did say the only part of the Kaskida deal that changed was the name of the buyer. In the end, they are still banking a mininum of $1.8 billion with up to $300 million additional if certain criteria are met. In Kaskida, Devon's part increases by 6.67% to 26.67%. BP raises its stake by 18.33% to 73.33% and is operator. Devon's Chip Minty says they think "Kaskida is a great discovery with significant potential." The 51,800-acre unit covers nine blocks in the Keathley Canyon. The 2006 discovery well, located about 250 miles southwest of New Orleans and drilled in 5,860 feet of water to a total depth of approximately 32,500 feet, found 800-feet of paying sands from the Lower Tertiary trend. Devon holds interests in more than 200 blocks in that trend with 20 prospects identified. "Having encountered this much hydrocarbon with a single exploratory well, we don't want to give it up," says Minty. Steve Toon, Editor, A&D Watch, Contributing Editor, Oil and Gas Investor, stoon@hartenergy.com