US — Exploration drilling was started in early September by operator LLOG at the Who Dat South exploration well, which is held in a joint venture by LLOG (45 per cent), ASX-listed Karoon Energy (30 per cent), and Westlawn Americas Offshore (25 per cent).

LLOG reported that the Seadrill West Neptune drillship spudded the exploration well, located offshore in the US Gulf of Mexico about 11 kilometres west of the Who Dat floating production system (FPS) in a water depth of about 780 metres.

The well will test two amplitude-supported Miocene turbidite reservoir prospects, with the shallower target analogous to productive zones within the Who Dat fields.

The well will be drilled as a deviated hole with a total measured depth of about 7,500 metres and is expected to take between 50 and 60 days to drill and evaluate.

The well lies within tie-back distance to both the Who Dat G subsea manifold (six kilometres) and the Who Dat FPS (11 kilometres).

Independent expert, Netherland Sewell and Associates Inc, has previously estimated that the Who Dat South prospect contains 31 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross unrisked prospective 2U resources, equivalent to 7.6 million barrels of oil equivalent net to Karoon on a net revenue interest basis.

The geological probability of success is assessed at 52 per cent.