Canadian energy firm Nexen said today it found no oil or natural gas in commercial quantities at its deepwater Kakuna exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico and was abandoning it.
Nexen, which has operations in Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and offshore west Africa, said the well was drilled to a depth of 30,300 feet at a cost of around £75million.
The company last month reported lower-than-expected quarterly profits and is working to iron out operational bugs after a disappointing 2011.
It plans to explore at least 15 offshore exploration and appraisal wells in the UK North Sea, west Africa and the Gulf of Mexico this year.