Blackbeard may rise from the ashes 10/28/2007
McMoRan planning to re-drill world's most closely watched exploration well more than 30,000 feet below Gulf's continental shelf
Blackbeard West, arguably the world's most closely watched exploration well until it was abandoned in August 2006 short of its primary target more than 30,000 feet below the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's cont...

MMS limits incentives for Gulf's deep-gas drillers 05/13/2007
Oil and gas prices drove decision not to offer more incentives; no commercials discoveries yet from ultra-deep zone below shelf
Deep drillers on the Gulf of Mexico's natural-gas-prone continental shelf, including those who have failed to penetrate the so-called "ultra-deep" zone far below 25,000 feet, can forget about addition...

Blackbeard casts doubt on ultra-deep 09/03/2006
Wildcat hits higher than expected pressure, falls short of 32,000-38,000 foot target on Gulf's OCS
Blackbeard West No. 1, perhaps the world's most closely watched exploration well because of its extremely deep target, fell well short of its goal and cast at least some doubt over the future of "ultr...

Blackbeard hits 13,000 feet 05/29/2005
Ultra-deep well on way to record 32,000-plus; Newfield talking more wells
The Blackbeard West exploration well on the Gulf of Mexico's continental shelf, perhaps the most closely watched well in the world because of its planned depth, is said to have reached the 13,000-foot...

EXPLORERS USA 2005: Big Oil returns to shallow waters of Gulf of Mexico in search of gas after working deepwater 05/08/2005
Major oil companies, after years of withdrawing from exploration on the Gulf of Mexico's heavily exploited continental shelf, are returning in search of giant natural gas fields thought to lurk deep b...

EXPLORERS USA 2005: Going deep for the gold 05/08/2005
Gulf 'ultra-deep' play could hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas
Exploration and production companies with deep pockets and a high tolerance for risk taking are tip-toeing into what could be the last pure wildcat play in the Gulf of Mexico. So far, only a handful...

More Exxon 'ultra-deep' wells likely, says Rowan 03/27/2005
Offshore rig contractor Rowan, which has drilled most of the wells over 18,000 feet on the Gulf of Mexico's continental shelf, says one of its clients, ExxonMobil, is planning to sink three more "ultr...

Owners clam up on 'ultra-deep' Blackbeard well in Gulf's OCS 02/20/2005
Information about the progress or failure of the Blackbeard West No. 1 exploration well, headed for a record 32,000 feet on the Gulf of Mexico's continental shelf, apparently will remain under wraps f...

Petrobras joins Treasure ventures 05/02/2004
Brazil state-owned oil company Petrobras, through its U.S. subsidiary Petrobras America, has agreed to join Newfield Exploration's 'ultra-deep' Treasure Island and Treasure Bay drilling projects in th...

Newfield takes on partners to drill 'ultra-deep' Treasure Island prospect 04/25/2004
Newfield Exploration, following a lengthy search for a partner to pick up the costs of an "ultra-deep" exploration well on its Treasure Island play in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico's contin...