McMoRan Exploration Co. reported an oil and gas discovery on the Davy Jones prospect located in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico on South Marsh Island Block 230. The company is one of the largest acreage holders in the Gulf of Mexico with one million gross acres under lease.

The well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 28,200 feet and hit total net pay of 135 feet in four zones of the Wilcox formation. The formation is from the Eocene and Paleocene eras.

James R. Moffett, the CEO of McMoRan Exploration Co., said, “Davy Jones log results confirm our geologic model and indicate that the previously identified sands in the Wilcox section on this large ultra-deep structure encompassing four OCS lease blocks (20,000 acres) provides significant additional development potential which, upon confirmation development drilling, could make Davy Jones one of the largest discoveries on the Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico in decades.”

McMoRan Exploration Co. is the operator of the well and has a 32.7% working interest in the discovery. Other publicly traded companies with a working interest in the Davy Jones prospect include Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) with 27.7% and Energy XXI (EXXI) with 15.8%.

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