Talos Energy has started appraisal drilling at its Daenerys discovery in the US Gulf while preparing an initial 3D seismic campaign over a major new exploration position offshore Honduras.
The first Daenerys appraisal well was spudded on 1 July 2026, with results expected before the end of the year. The programme is intended to further define the discovered resource and assess its potential contribution to Talos’s deepwater portfolio.
Daenerys is located in Walker Ridge blocks 106, 107, 150 and 151. The 2025 discovery well was drilled to a total vertical depth of 33,228 ft and encountered oil pay in several high-quality subsalt Miocene sands, validating the company’s geological and geophysical models. Talos operates the discovery with a 27% working interest.
Offshore Honduras, Talos has signed agreements to acquire an 80% operated interest in a block covering more than four million gross acres. CaribX will retain the remaining 20%. Talos has completed the acquisition of an initial 45% interest and assumed operatorship, while the transfer of a further 35% remains subject to approval by Honduras’s Secretaría de Energía.
The acreage contains shallow- and deepwater exploration opportunities, including untested deepwater Miocene prospects within what Talos describes as a working petroleum system. An initial 3D seismic survey is planned for the second half of 2026. Talos will have the option to participate in a subsequent exploration well, depending on the seismic results.
The transaction has been structured around a seismic carry and limited reimbursement of sunk costs, allowing Talos to establish a large exploration position at a relatively low entry cost.
The company is also adding exploration exposure through its proposed 50% farm-in to the Repsol-operated Block 29 offshore Mexico. The Salinas-Sureste Basin block contains the Polok and Chinwol discoveries, with estimated gross recoverable resources exceeding 200 million boe, as well as several additional exploration prospects. Talos will provide a cash carry of up to $20 million for the next exploration well.
Talos has also contracted the West Vela drillship for a one-year programme beginning in mid-2027, with options to extend the contract.
President and chief executive Paul Goodfellow said the company was expanding its deepwater portfolio while adding large-scale exploration potential at a low entry cost.
