Houston-based oil and gas company W&T Offshore has started drilling the ST 224 #1 well within the South Timbalier 224 (ST 224) lease in the Gulf of Mexico.
W&T Offshore is the operator of the ST 224 lease with a 39% stake and Otto Energy is its partner with a 25% interest.
According to Otto’s statement on Friday, the operator advised overnight that the ST 224 #1 well had started and as at 6am on October 19 US Central Daylight Time the well was at 1,240 feet.
Otto further said that the drilling is targeting a large, amplitude supported, high CGR (condensate gas ratio) gas condensate exploration prospect located in the prolific Bul. 1 trend.
The prospect, which sits in approximately 170 feet of water, is being drilled using the Enterprise 264 jack-up drilling rig. The well has a relatively shallow target depth of 10,800ft (TVD) (11,439ft (MD)) and is expected to take around 55 days to drill and evaluate.
Otto’s Managing Director, Matthew Allen , commented: “Drilling has commenced as planned and we now look forward to testing this highly prospective opportunity. With an experienced Gulf of Mexico operator in W&T Offshore and a high caliber rig and drilling crew under contract we are confident that exploration drilling and any subsequent development activities will be conducted in a quick, safe and cost effective manner.”