McMoRan Exploration Co. announced today that the Flatrock exploratory prospect located in OCS Block 310 at South Marsh Island Block 212 in approximately 10 feet of water has been drilled to a measured depth of 16,500 feet and has been logged with wireline logs.

The wireline logs indicated that the well encountered a total of 189 net feet of hydrocarbon bearing sands in five zones over a combined 364 foot gross interval. The pay zones were located in the Rob-L section, with the most significant zone having 120 net feet of hydrocarbon bearing sands over a 238 foot gross interval.

After setting a completion liner, the Flatrock well will be drilled to 19,000 feet to evaluate the Operc section. Production from the well is expected to commence quickly using existing infrastructure in the area. McMoRan intends to develop the opportunities in this area aggressively and is currently permitting three offset locations to provide further options for the development of the multiple reservoirs found in the Rob-L section and to evaluate the Operc section further.

McMoRan’s Co-Chairmen, James R. Moffett and Richard C. Adkerson, said: “We are extremely encouraged by these drilling results which indicate a potential major discovery. This is a large structure with significant additional development and exploration opportunities. It is a clear example of our deeper pool concept. Flatrock represents the deeper expression of the structural features of the Tiger Shoal field, which produced over 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalents from multiple wells above 12,500 feet.”

McMoRan controls a significant amount of acreage in the Tiger Shoal/Mound Point area (OCS Block 310/Louisiana State Lease 340). The addition of the Flatrock discovery follows prior discoveries McMoRan has made in this important area, including Hurricane, Hurricane Deep, JB Mountain, and Mound Point. McMoRan has multiple additional exploration opportunities with significant potential on this large acreage position.