New oil discovery confirmed in Gulf of Mexico

U.S. oil and gas company Hess Corporation has made an oil discovery in an exploration well located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

According to Hess, planning is underway for this new oil discovery in the Pickerel-1 exploration well, which is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 727, to be tied back to the Tubular Bells production platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Hess has a 57.14 per cent interest in the Tubular Bells field and acts as the operator while Chevron holds the remaining 42.86 per cent interest.

While the U.S. player did not disclose more information about this well, the company did reveal that the well encountered approximately 90 feet of net pay in high quality, oil-bearing, Miocene age reservoir. The first oil is expected in mid-2024. The company outlined that the net production from the Gulf of Mexico in the second quarter of 2023 was 32,000 boepd, compared with 29,000 boepd in the prior-year quarter.

The Tubular Bells deepwater oil and gas field was discovered in 2003 and lies in approximately 4,300 feet of water, 135 miles southeast of New Orleans primarily on Mississippi Canyon Block 724. One year after Hess took over as operator, the project was sanctioned in 2011 and fast-tracked with an execution schedule to first oil in just three years.

Tubular Bells utilises the first classic spar built in the United States. The design and construction were done entirely in the U.S. creating an estimated 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in Texas and Louisiana. The oil and gas are transported to shore via two separate 12-inch export lines.