Energy XXI, Houston, reported in a Jan. 7 operations update that it will plug and abandon its Merlin well on Vermilion Block 179 in the Gulf of Mexico. Merlin, which was drilled to 19,915 ft MD (15,700 ft TVD), “did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons,” the company said.
Energy XXI, Merlin operator, was targeting multiple oil and gas sands trapped against a salt dome with the well (OGJ Online, Oct. 23, 2013).
Energy XXI said it is now “analyzing the well data to determine future drilling activities at Vermilion.”
The company said it will next move the Ensco 99 rig to Grand Isle to conduct two recompletions before being mobilized to the West Delta 30 field late this fiscal year to begin a multiwell horizontal program.