McMoRan updates drilling, production activities

Offshore staff

NEW ORLEANS -- McMoRan Exploration Co. has updated its Gulf of Mexico exploration and production activities.

Blueberry Hill prospect
On March 29, McMoRan re-entered a previously existing wellbore and began sidetracking operations at the Blueberry Hill deep gas prospect on Louisiana State Lease 340. The wellbore encountered similar resistive zones to the original sidetrack (ST No. 1) well. McMoRan has identified an approximate 190-ft (58-m) vertical column of hydrocarbons. The second sidetrack (ST No. 2) well will target the reservoir sand structurally high to the ST No. 1 and by-pass wells in order to pursue an optimum production take point in the hydrocarbon column, the company says. McMoRan is planning additional offset wells to further evaluate the Blueberry Hill area, including the deeper potential.

Davy Jones prospect
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. The well has been drilled through the salt weld and the company is currently setting casing at 23,500 ft (7,163 m) as it prepares to deepen the well to a proposed total depth of 28,000 ft (8,534 m). The exploratory well will test Eocene (Wilcox), Paleocene, and possibly the Cretaceous (Tuscaloosa) sections below the salt weld.

Sherwood deep gas exploratory prospect
The Sherwood deep gas exploratory prospect on High Island block 133 is dry, according to McMoRan. The well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 17,000 ft (5,182 m), but did not contain commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. It has been plugged and abandoned.

Hurricane Deep well
McMoRan plans to begin sidetrack operations on the Hurricane Deep well in the fourth quarter. The Hurricane Deep sidetrack is on the southern flank of the Flatrock structure on South Marsh Island block 217. The updip test will target the Gyro sand encountered in the Hurricane Deep well (No. 226).

The No. 226 well was drilled to a true vertical depth of 20,712 ft (6,313 m) in 1Q 2007. Logs indicated a 900 gross ft (274 m) upper Gyro sand, the top 40 ft (12 m) of which was hydrocarbon bearing. McMoRan believes an updip well has the potential to contain a thicker hydrocarbon column.

Production
The Flatrock No. 5 well was re-completed this month and is currently producing at a gross rate of approximately 65 MMcfe/d of natural gas. Five of the six wells in the Flatrock field are currently producing at a gross rate of approximately 265 MMcfe/d.

In August, the Flatrock No. 4 (#231) was shut in because of a mechanical issue associated with the wellbore. The well had been producing at a rate of approximately 100 MMcfe/d of natural gas for over six months prior to being shut in. Following remedial activities, the well is expected to re-start production during the fourth quarter.

09/24/2009