Murphy Oil abandons 2 appraisal wells in Malaysia

HOUSTON Jan 11 (Reuters) - Murphy Oil Corp (MUR.N) on Monday said it has abandoned two wells in Malaysia and also said it was encouraged by the results of its first well in the Eagle Ford shale in south Texas.

The Siakap #2 and the Jangas #2 appraisal wells drilled offshore Malaysia encountered less oil than forecast and were plugged and abandoned, the El Dorado, Arkansas, company said.

After-tax dry-hole costs for the Siakap #2 totaled about $18.2 million, all of which will be recorded in 2009. After-tax costs for Jangas #2 are estimated at $32.7 million, with $22.7 million recorded in 2009 and $10 million in 2010.

The Eagle Ford well was drilled vertically to a depth of 13,320 feet then completed and flowed at an initial rate of about 7.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Murphy is drilling a second Eagle Ford well in an nearby county to evaluate another section of the company's leasehold, David Wood, the company's chief executive officer, said. (Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Gary Hill)