Talos to Drill Three High-Impact Wells in Gulf of Mexico with West Vela Drillship

U.S. oil and gas company Talos Energy has set out plans to drill three consecutive high-impact subsalt wells in the Gulf of Mexico, using Seadrill’s West Vela drillship.

In an operations update, Talos Energy said it expects to take possession of the Seadrill-owned drillship West Vela to start drilling the Katmai West 2 well in the late third quarter 2024 to further appraise the field, potentially adding significant reserves.

Talos Energy projects achieving first production from the Katmai West 2 well in the second quarter 2025.

Modifications to the facility, Tarantula, will increase capacity from 27 MBoe/d to 35 MBoe/d. Talos Energy will hold 50% W.I. and Ridgewood Energy 50% in Katmai. Talos is the 100% owner and operator of the Tarantula facility.

After Katmai West 2 well, Talos Energy plans to use West Vela drillship to drill the Daenerys exploration well. The Daenerys well is a high-impact subsalt project that will evaluate the regionally prolific Middle and Lower Miocene section and carries an estimated gross resource potential between 100 – 300 MMBoe.

The prospect is part of a broader farm-in transaction executed in 2023 with a combined approximately 23,000 gross acres in the Walker Ridge area. The well is expected to spud in the first quarter 2025. Talos holds a 27% working interests, and its partners include Red Willow, Houston Energy, and Cathexis.

Talos Energy expects to mobilize the West Vela drillship to Helms Deep after completing drilling operations at Daenerys. The West Vela is set to commence drilling at Helms Deep, an amplitude-supported, near-infrastructure subsalt Pliocene exploitation well, in the third quarter 2025.

The Helms Deep well has a proposed depth of approximately 18,000 feet and an estimated gross resource potential between 17 - 27 MMBoe. Talos Energy is targeting 50% working interest.

"We are currently drilling at our non-operated Ewing Bank 953, with results expected later in the third quarter 2024. Additionally, we anticipate receiving the West Vela deepwater rig late in the third quarter 2024, which will begin drilling three consecutive high-impact subsalt wells, including the Katmai West 2 appraisal in 2024, followed by the Daenerys and Helms Deep prospects in 2025,” said Tim Duncan, Talos President and Chief Executive Officer.

The West Vela is a 7th generation ultra-deepwater dual activity drillship with operational history in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, built by Samsung Heavy Industries in 2013, and capable of operating at 12,000 ft water depth with maximum drilling depth of 37,500 ft.