Murphy Oil strikes out in GoM, Perth basin

EL DORADO, Arkansas -- Murphy Oil Corporation. has announced the results from its recent exploration drilling program.

In the Gulf of Mexico, the Urca well in Mississippi Canyon Block 697 failed to encounter hydrocarbons and has been plugged and abandoned. Murphy will take a U.S. dry hole expense of approximately $47 million in the first quarter of 2015 for Urca.

Additionally, Murphy has finished two of the three wells in its Perth basin drilling program, offshore Western Australia. The two wells, Koel and Cisticola, both located in Block WA-481-P, were unsuccessful and have been plugged and abandoned. The company will take a dry hole expense of approximately $23 million in the first quarter of 2015 for these two wells.

Murphy is currently drilling the third well at the Munia prospect in the Perth basin, which will be finished in April. Depending on the outcome, the cost attributed to this well in the first quarter of 2015 is expected to be approximately $9 million.