Hess Corporation has made an oil discovery at the Esox-1 exploration well located in Mississippi Canyon Block No. 726 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the US-based independent announced on Tuesday.
Esox-1 was drilled in 1,405 meters water depth and encountered approximately 58 meters of high quality oil bearing Miocene reservoirs, Hess said.
The discovery will be tied back to the Tubular Bells production facilities located approximately 10 kilometers away.
“We are delighted with the success of the Esox well, which demonstrates the value of our infrastructure led exploration program in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” CEO John Hess said. “We expect the well to be producing in the first quarter of 2020. As a low cost tieback to existing infrastructure, Esox should generate strong financial returns.”
Hess is operator and holds 57.14% interest in Esox, and partner Chevron holds 42.86% interest.