Hess pulls off Esox oil discovery in Gulf of Mexico

Esox oil discovery : Hess Corporation has pulled off an oil discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico following the drilling of the Esox-1 exploration well in Mississippi Canyon Block No. 726, offshore US.

The Esox-1 well was drilled in 1,405 meters of water when it came across nearly 58 meters of high-quality oil-bearing Miocene reservoirs, said the US energy company.

The exploration well is located only six miles east of the Tubular Bells production facilities, operated by Hess, which paves way for a potential subsea tie-back for the Esox oil discovery.

The Tubular Bells oil and gas field, which is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 725, was developed with an investment of $2.3 billion and was brought into production in late 2014.

The Esox oil discovery could be developed as a subsea tie-back to the Hess-operated Tubular Bells oil and gas field. Photo courtesy of Hess Corporation.

Commenting on the Esox oil discovery, John Hess – CEO of Hess, said: “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.

“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 the operator of the Esox oil discovery with a stake of 57.14% and is partnered by Chevron U.S.A., which holds the remaining 42.86% interest.