Murphy Oil Notches Dual Exploration Wins in West Africa and Asia Alongside Vietnam and US Gulf Start-ups

October 13, 2026 · 10 hours ago

Murphy Oil has paired exploration and appraisal successes with new projects being put into production mode.

Houston-headquartered oil and gas company Murphy Oil has revealed a four-part operational sweep, anchored by offshore appraisal and exploration successes in Côte d'Ivoire and Vietnam, in combination with new assets coming online in Vietnamese and U.S. Gulf waters.

Murphy Oil Corporation has announced successful appraisal at the Bubale West-1X well offshore Côte d’Ivoire and an exploration discovery at the Lac Da Trang (White Camel) North-1X well offshore Vietnam.

The Bubale West-1X well in Block CI-103 offshore Côte d’Ivoire was drilled to a total measured depth of approximately 19,357 feet (5,900 meters) in 9,039 feet (2,755 meters) of water and encountered approximately 88 feet (27 meters) of net oil pay in the Turonian reservoir.

The company emphasizes that additional hydrocarbons were also encountered in the deeper Albian reservoir. Preliminary analysis of logs and fluid samples indicates high-quality oil. The firm points out that information obtained from the well will be integrated with existing subsurface data to optimize the remaining appraisal program at Bubale.

Murphy’s subsidiary, Murphy CI-103 Oil, has an 85% working interest in Block CI-103 and serves as operator, with Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire (PETROCI) holding the remaining 15% working interest.