Jack 2 is a test well in the deep waters of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

(Walker Ridge Block 758) that successfully extracted oil from the

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

area of the Gulf in the second quarter of 2006. The field owners Chevron, Devon Energy and Norway's Statoil drilled to about below the sea floor, the wellhead being below sea-level, for a total depth of 28,125 feet. Oil flowed at more than per day. At the time, it was the deepest ever successful test well in the Gulf of Mexico to date. Jack 2 is a joint venture between

Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened t ...

(50%), Devon Energy (25%), and StatoilHydro (25%). Most oil in the Gulf of Mexico is found on a

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

in less than of water. Oil was known to exist in the deeper waters of the Gulf between , but it had yet to be proven that enough could be extracted to make the venture economically successful. The Jack 2 well is offshore in more than of water. The oil was extracted after drilling through more than of rock beneath the ocean floor. Jack 2 proved the existence of a new

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The estimated

oil reserves An oil is any chemical polarity, nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobe, hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilicity, lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable ...

the play could contain range between and . News of the find was credited for contributing to a drop in crude oil prices.Oil prices bounce back from 2-month lows on expectations inventory data will show drop
''International Herald Tribune, September 5, 2006.'' The maximum estimate of represents half of the total current estimate of U.S. reserves, equal to slightly less than two years of U.S. consumption at 2001 levels.
''Energy Information Administration.''

References

See also