Republic of Congo

In 2003, Murphy added an additional area of international focus by acquiring an 85% working interest in two blocks (MPS and MPN) offshore Republic of Congo. The blocks, located in the Lower Congo Basin, lie in water depths ranging from 450-6,900 feet and total approximately 1.8 million gross acres. This acreage has been only lightly explored by former operators and lies on trend with other discoveries.

In January 2005, Murphy announced a discovery at our first well on our MPS block at Azurite Marine #1. The development has been sanctioned with first oil targeted for 2009.

Meanwhile, seismic survey data is being acquired and analyzed in preparation for future exploration on these blocks.