Cobalt International Energy Inc. is considering bypass coring and sidetrack options for the North Platte 3 appraisal well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Although commerciality of the 2012 North Platte discovery, in the Garden Banks area, remains in question, Cobalt called early results of the first appraisal well “encouraging.”
The North Platte 3 encountered about 550 ft of net oil pay, similar to the discovery well “but with evidence of even better developed inboard Lower Tertiary reservoirs,” the company said in its third-quarter earnings statement (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2012). It’s still evaluating logging and pressure data.
Cobalt is operator with a 60% working interest. Total E&P USA holds the other 40%.