Occidental Petroleum announced an oil discovery at the Bandit prospect approximately 125 miles south of the Louisiana coast. The company said the exploration well in Green Canyon Block 680 encountered high-quality, full-to-base oil-bearing Miocene sands.
Bandit is operated by Occidental, which holds a 45.375% working interest, and includes co-owners Chevron (37.125%) and Woodside Energy (17.5%). The co-owners said they are currently evaluating the results to determine the next steps, adding that the discovery has the potential for subsea tiebacks to an adjacent Occidental-operated facility and others in the nearby area.
“We believe this discovery demonstrates the continued importance of the Gulf of America as a strategic source of reliable domestic oil supply that supports long-term energy security,” said Jeff Simmons, Occidental's senior vice president for subsurface technology and chief petrotechnical officer.
Chevron confirmed the discovery on 9 April.
“We are working with our co-owners to advance appraisal and development planning in a disciplined manner, leveraging existing infrastructure to help deliver competitive barrels,” said Kevin McLachlan, Chevron’s vice president for exploration.
Westwood Global Energy Group reported that Occidental spudded the exploratory well in September 2025 in a water depth of 5,019 ft using the Valaris DS-16 drillship.
Westwood also listed the Bandit prospect as a well to watch in 2025.
“Bandit is understood to be targeting both a shallower Miocene play as well as the primary target in the Paleocene/Wilcox,” said Jamie Collard, a senior analyst at Westwood, at the time. “It is located in the inboard area of the Paleocene play, where we’ve seen very high-pressure conditions, and this has really caused some of the developments to be quite slow and challenging.”