The well has been drilled to 28,263 feet and has been logged with pipe-conveyed wireline logs to 28,134 feet. The wireline log results indicated a total of 135 net feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands in four zones in the Wilcox section of the Eocene/Paleocene. All of the zones are full to base, with two of the zones containing a combined 90 net feet.
The Eocene/Paleocene (Wilcox) suite of sands logged below 27,300 feet appears to be of exceptional quality, the company said.
Flow testing will be required to confirm the hydrocarbon flow rates from the four separate zones. The resistivity log obtained on January 10 was the last data needed to confirm hydrocarbons in South Marsh Island Block 230. Drilling will resume to deepen the well to a proposed depth of 29,000 feet to test additional objectives.
John Schiller, chairman and CEO of Energy XXI, said: “The Davy Jones discovery verifies the ultra-deep potential of the Gulf of Mexico shelf and opens this horizon as a major exploration frontier. Our partner McMoRan has done an outstanding job leading this extraordinary exploration effort, and we look forward to an active and exciting drilling program to further define and expand the ultra-deep shelf play.”
Energy XXI, through a JV area of mutual interest with McMoRan, has the option to continue participating in further exploration within the ultra-deep shelf play below the salt weld. Prospects on this acreage have multi-Tcfe gross potentials and target objective sections on the shelf in the Miocene and older age sections that have been correlated to those productive sections seen in deepwater discoveries made by other industry participants.
Energy XXI is funding 14.1% of the exploratory costs to earn a 15.8% working interest and 12.6% net revenue interest at Davy Jones. Other working interest owners in Davy Jones include: McMoRan Exploration, with 32.7%; Plains Exploration & Production company with 27.7%; Nippon Oil Exploration USA with 12%; and WA Tex Moncrief Jr., with 8.8%.
