Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS -- W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. (Moncrief) has agreed with McMoRan to fund drilling on a promoted basis to explore and develop the Davy Jones ultra deep prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. McMoRan, Plains Exploration & Production, and Energy XXI will assign 10% of its collective working interests in the prospect to Moncrief. Moncrief may also participate for 10% of the collective interests of these parties in future ultra deep wells.
On June 28, McMoRan re-entered a wellbore on South Marsh Island block 230 to evaluate the Davy Jones prospect, which involves a large ultra deep structure encompassing four OCS lease blocks in 20 ft (6 m) of water. By-pass operations out of the original wellbore at 17,300 ft (5,273 m) were successful and the well is currently drilling below 20,000 ft (6,096 m) towards a proposed total depth of 28,000 ft (8,534 m), McMoRan reports.
This exploratory well will test Eocene (Wilcox), Paleocene, and possibly the Cretaceous (Tuscaloosa) sections below the salt weld (i.e. listric fault) on the GoM shelf, the company says.
McMoRan operates the Davy Jones prospect and will fund 25.7% of the exploratory costs and expects to have a 32.7% working interest. Other participants are expected to have the following working interests: PXP (27.7%), EXXI (15.8%), Nippon Oil Exploration USA (12%), Moncrief (8.8%), and a private investor (3%).
09/03/2009
