By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Mar. 27�Murphy Oil Corp., El Dorado, Ark., said an exploration well on its Front Runner prospect in the Gulf of Mexico has found more than 850 true vertical ft of pay.
Front Runner is on the Green Canyon 338 block in 3,500 ft of water.
The exploratory well was drilled to 22,925 ft TD. Once appraisal operations to the north of the well are complete, the well will be sidetracked to the south to drill the Front Runner South prospect.
Murphy estimates Front Runner contains a resource of 80 million-120 million boe.
Murphy operates the block with 37.5% working interest. Dominion Resources Inc. owns 37.5%, and Spinnaker Exploration Co., Houston, owns 25%.
Claiborne P. Deming, Murphy's president and CEO, said, "Front Runner is a major discovery and provides a real boost to our Gulf of Mexico exploratory program. Once we have fully appraised the discovery, we will begin evaluating development options."
