Located in Mississippi Canyon Block 941, the well was drilled to a total depth of 29,100 feet to test the deeper Miocene intervals of the 1999 discovery called Mirage. The Mirage drilling program included an initial well drilled to 16,600 feet and a sidetrack that reached a depth of 22,400 feet.

Unocal had hoped that a successful test of the deeper intervals with the Sequoia well would lead to development, but the hydrocarbons encountered in the deeper interval were deemed to be noncommercial. Unocal was the operator, and other working interest holders included Total, Marathon Oil and Spinnaker Exploration.

Unocal said development of the Mirage discovery is now unlikely given the results of the Sequoia well. It estimates that its fourth quarter dry hole expense will be $75-85 million, compared to previous expectations of $50-75 million.

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