Murphy Oil's second exploration well offshore Ivory Coast, Caracal-1X, has been plugged and abandoned as a dry hole, marking a second consecutive failure following the non-commercial Civette-1X well.

Drilling Results and Well Details

The Caracal-1X well was drilled by the drillship Deepwater Skyros in Block CI-102 to a total depth of 2601 metres. The well targeted a different geological play concept than the first well but was abandoned after encountering only hydrocarbon shows, not a commercial discovery. This follows the earlier Civette-1X well in Block CI-502, which also encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons across multiple intervals.

Impact and Future Plans

Despite these two unsuccessful probes, Murphy Oil stated it remains committed to its exploration program in the region. The company plans to proceed with the Bubale-1X well in Block CI-709, which will target an independent geological play from the first two wells. The data from Caracal-1X will be used to inform the ongoing assessment of the remaining prospectivity across Murphy's Ivory Coast acreage.

Ownership Structure

In Block CI-102, where Caracal-1X was drilled, Murphy Oil holds a 90% operating stake and is partnered by the state-owned company Petroci.