At the deep-water Amethyst prospect in Mississippi Canyon Block 26, Stone hit about 90 feet of pay in one unidentified interval, "which suggests a commercial discovery".
The strike was made in the Pompano field, which Stone acquired from UK supermajor BP after the Macondo disaster. It bumped its stake to 100% after buying out Anadarko's 25% slice in 2012.
"Analysis of logging, coring and fluid data confirmed the existence of natural gas, condensate and natural gas liquids in the pay zone," Stone said of Amethyst, adding that the find would yield an estimated 60 to 80 barrels of liquids per million cubic foot of natural gas.
Stone
