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Vast Oil Pool Tapped in Gulf of Mexico
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit estimated that the first production for the Chevron-led partnership might not come on line until after 2010, depending on how many more test wells the companies drill. That said, many companies, including BP PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., stand to benefit from their own projects in the so-called lower tertiary, a rock formation that is 24 million to 65 million years old.
"They may be the first ones to hit the jackpot, but if the current thinking is correct, this is only a beginning," Gheit said.
  This June 2006 photo provided by Devon Energy Corporation shows the Jack 2 well located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 170 miles southwest of New Orleans in approximately 7,000 feet of water. A trio of oil companies, including Devon, has tapped a petroleum pool deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico that could boost the nation's reserves by more than 50 percent. (AP Photo/Devon Energy Corporation) (AP) Partnership
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The well was drilled in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf, about 270 miles southwest of New Orleans and 175 miles off the coast. It followed up a discovery made by Chevron in 2004.
San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron said the well set a variety of records, including the deepest well successfully tested in the Gulf of Mexico. Chevron said the well was drilled more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor below 7,000 feet of water for a total depth of 28,175 feet.
Shares of Devon rose $7.99 to close at $72.14 on the New York Stock Exchange, above the top end of the stock's 52-week range of $48.94 to $70.35. Shares of Chevron rose $1.51, or 2.3 percent, to finish at $66.34.
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