By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 17 -- Hess Corp. said an exploratory well has encountered a 500-ft gross hydrocarbon section at various intervals in the offshore extension of Libya's mainstay Sirte basin.
A deepwater exploration well off Egypt found hydrocarbons, while another wildcat off Ghana was unsuccessful while another is planned, the company said.
Hess holds 100% interest in Area 54 of Libya, where the A1-54/01 wildcat 38 miles offshore went to total depth of 11,077 ft in 2,807 ft of water in the Mediterranean Gulf of Sirte.
The Dekhila-1x well in deepwater West Mediterranean (Block 1) 45 miles offshore in Egypt's Nile Delta went to TD 8,881 ft in 3,883 ft of water and found a gross hydrocarbon section of 148 ft at multiple intervals. Results will be incorporated into engineering studies for the wider West Med development.
Hess didn't elaborate on the magnitude of the find, but the Sirte offshore is not as yet a producing province.
Interest are Hess 55%, RWE Dea 35%, and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. 10%.
The 586,000-acre West Med block contained the Abu Sir, El King, El Max, and Al Bahig gas discoveries when Hess acquired its interest in late 2005 on trading its US Permian Basin properties to Apache Corp.
Hess's Ankobra-1 wildcat, on the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points license and 70 km southeast of the Jubilee oil discovery, went to 13,000 ft in 5,682 ft of water without encountering commercial hydrocarbons. Hess is shooting 625 sq miles of 3D seismic in anticipation of a well to be drilled in the unexplored western half of the license.
Hess holds 90% interest in the license in partnership with Ghana National Petroleum Co.
