ConocoPhillips Expects $142 Million in Dry-Hole Expenses

   By Tess Stynes 
 

ConocoPhillips (COP) expects to post $142 million in dry-hole expenses in the first quarter related to two projects off the coast of Angola and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The oil-and-gas company estimated total pretax exploration expenses for the quarter at $482 million.

Conoco said a deepwater exploration well offshore Angola was drilled to a depth of 20,666 feet and that a gas column of 525 feet was encountered in the primary objective reservoir. No further activity is planned and the well has been plugged and abandoned.

A well in the Harrier prospect in Mississippi Canyon Block 118 of the Gulf was drilled to a depth of 19,400 feet. No commercial hyrdrocarbons were encountered. The well will be plugged and abandoned. The offshore subsidiary of Stone Energy Offshore LLC was a nonoperating owner in the Harrier prospect. Stone Energy Offshore is a unit of Stone Energy Corp. (SGY).

Low crude oil prices have led Conoco and other major oil companies to cut back on exploring for new sources of oil and gas, as well as on drilling in some shale formations in North America, including the Niobrara in Colorado.

Last month, Conoco said it plans to curb capital spending through 2017 to reflect expectations that commodities prices will remain volatile.

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