Marathon reports deepwater discovery in Gulf of Mexico

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 11 -- Marathon Oil Corp. reported a discovery on the Flying Dutchman prospect on Green Canyon Block 511 in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles south of New Orleans.

The well, drilled in 3,700 ft of water, reached 30,000 ft TD. It encountered 100 ft of net hydrocarbon-bearing sands in an Upper Miocene reservoir. A Marathon spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the type of hydrocarbons.

The results of Flying Dutchman will be evaluated along with additional potential drilling on GC Block 511 to determine overall commerciality.

In the second quarter, Marathon expects to expense $45 million pretax related to a lower zone that was unsuccessful. Marathon holds 63% working interest and operates the block as well as being responsible for 100% of drilling costs.