Green light for drilling of Gulf of Mexico oil & gas prospects with Noble and Seadrill drillships

U.S.-headquartered oil and gas exploration and production player LLOG Exploration has confirmed the approval of drilling activities at three wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which will be undertaken by drillships, owned by two offshore drilling contractors, Noble Corporation and Seadrill.

LLOG, as the operator of the Who Dat East and Who Dat South joint ventures, has confirmed the approval of the drilling operations at the Who Dat East appraisal/exploration well and the Who Dat South exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico. These assets lie approximately 27 kilometers east of the Who Dat floating production system (FPS).

The Who Dat East well, MC 509-1 (LLOG), is anticipated to be spud in the first half of April 2024, using Noble’s Noble Valiant drillship to delineate a discovery made in 2001, and test additional targets in the Middle Miocene section. The well is designed to test five main reservoir intervals and, subject to the results, may be suspended as a potential future producer.

Furthermore, the Who Dat East asset is estimated to contain 17 MMboe of gross unrisked 2C contingent resources and 35 MMboe of gross unrisked 2U prospective resources, with an aggregate geological probability of success estimated to be 62%. The well – to be drilled as a deviated hole with a total measured depth of around 7,925 meters – will take about 56 days to drill and evaluate. The Who Dat East JV participants are LLOG (operator, 40%), Karoon (40%), and Westlawn (20%).

On the other hand, the MC 545-1 exploration well in the Who Dat South prospect, located about 11 kilometers southwest of the Who Dat FPS, is expected to spud towards the end of 2Q 2024, using Seadrill’s West Neptune drillship. This well will test two targets in the Miocene section, with the shallower target being similar to the reservoir in the G-1 well in Who Dat.

The prospect is estimated to contain 31 MMboe of gross unrisked 2U prospective resources, with the geological probability of success estimated at 52%. The Who Dat South well, planned to be drilled as a deviated hole with a total measured depth of around 7,425 meters, will take approximately 50 days to drill and evaluate. The Who Dat South JV participants are LLOG (operator, 40%), Karoon (30%), and Westlawn (30%).

Moreover, LLOG has awarded multiple rig contract extensions, ensuring operational continuity and efficiency in executing its strategic plan. As a result, the deal for the West Neptune rig has been extended through the second quarter of 2025, with additional extension options available, while the Noble Valiant rig was booked for one year, expanding the rig’s backlog into the first quarter of 2025.

The U.S. firm intends to drill and complete multiple wells across its operated Buckskin field (KC 785, 786, 828, 829, 830, 871, and 872), Leon field (KC 642, 643, 686, and 687), and Castile field (KC 736). LLOG has kicked off Phase II development at the Who Dat field with workovers, re-completions, and sidetracks, and initiated operation of a subsea pump.

The company also completed and tied back two wells at the field, boosting gross oil production to the highest level since 2016. The firm plans to drill three additional Who Dat area prospects in 2024, with the potential to be tied back to the Who Dat FPS.

Philip LeJeune, President and CEO of LLOG, commented: “We have been able to grow oil production at our Who Dat field through discoveries, sidetracks and recompletions to the highest level since April 2016. In addition to Who Dat, we brought online our Taggart field and additional wells at Spruance and Buckskin fields. We are excited about our future as we are in various stages of development for multiple projects including the Leon and Castile developments that will continue to grow our footprint in the deepwater GOM.”

The LLOG-operated Who Dat conventional deepwater oil and gas development, which came on stream in 2011, is located in 800 meters of water offshore Louisiana within federal waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The oil and gas production, comprising approximately 60% oil and 40% gas from nine wells, is processed through an FPS and transported to markets through common carrier pipelines.