Offshore staff
HOUSTON – GulfSlope Energy, Inc., reports that the Rowan Ralph Coffmanjackup rig is being towed to the Vermilion Area in South Addition Block 378. The company says it plans to commence drilling operations at the Canoe Prospect by Aug. 1, pending final rig inspection and drilling approval from the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM).
Located in 325 ft of water, the Canoe exploration well is planned to test multiple Pleistocene age amplitudes that correlate to productive zones in nearby producing fields. Drilling operations are expected to take approximately 15 days to reach a measured depth of 6,249 feet. If successful, this above-salt test will be evaluated for development options ranging from subsea tiebacks to building a production platform.
Immediately following the drilling of the Canoe well, GulfSlope will mobilize theRalph Coffman to drill the initial exploration well on the Tau prospect (“Tau”) on Ship Shoal Area, in South Addition blocks 336/351. The Tau well is located in 305 ft of water and is planned to be drilled to a measured depth of 29,728 ft. The well targets multiple deep subsalt formations. The company’s exploration plan for Tau was recently approved by the BOEM and the Company anticipates receiving the approved permit to drill in August.
GulfSlope is the operator of both wells with a 20% working interest. Delek GOM Investments LLC will have a 75% working interest and Texas South Energy Inc. will own a 5% working interest. Under the terms of its operating agreement, GulfSlope will pay 8% of the cost to drill the exploratory wells and 20% of the costs thereafter upon commercial discovery.
“Over the past few years, we have had success in leveraging subsalt seismic technologies with the skilled expertise of highly-experienced subsalt exploration geoscientists,” said John Seitz, Chairman and CEO of GulfSlope. “When we combined those results with a deeply experienced drilling team, the result is a superior drilling program that we believe will drive a resurgence in industry interest for the shelf of the US Gulf of Mexico.”
07/26/2018
