By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 21 -- The deepest well drilled so far in the Gulf of Mexico is an oil discovery, says Nexen Inc., the block operator.
The first well on the Knotty Head prospect on Green Canyon Block 512 indicated 600 ft of net oil pay in multiple zones, Nexen said. Fluid samples, conventional cores, and sidewall cores were taken in the productive intervals. Analysis indicates high quality crude oil in good quality reservoir sands, Nexen said.
The well, in 3,557 ft of water, reached 34,189 ft MD, the longest penetration to date in the gulf (OGJ Online, Dec. 16, 2005).
The TransOcean Discoverer Spirit drillship began drilling the Knotty Head well in March and will drill a sidetrack appraisal well. Additional appraisal drilling is planned in 2006 to determine the extent of the discovery.
Nexen, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., BHP Billiton Ltd., and Chevron Corp. each holds a 25% working interest in the block.
