More oil discovered off Guyana’s coast

The Guyana government last week welcomed the discovery of new oil wells within the Stabroek Block offshore, saying it will add to the previously announced gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the block, estimated at over nine billion oil-equivalent barrels.

“As with discoveries prior, the government of Guyana foresees this new development increasing the potential for additional floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSO),” said Natural Resources Minister with responsibility for the petroleum sector, Vickram Bharrat.

“This is further set to increase the estimated recoverable resource given by the operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). In this regard, the ministry and the petroleum sector regulatory agencies remain committed to working with all operators, in efforts to expedite their respective drill programmes as we seek the sector’s expansion,” he added.

The US-based oil giant ExxonMobil said it had made a discovery at Whiptail in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.

It said that the Whiptail-1 well encountered 246 feet of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs and that drilling is also ongoing at the Whiptail-2 well, which has encountered 167 feet of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs.

“Drilling continues at both wells to test deeper targets, and results will be evaluated for future development,” ExxonMobil said.

The Whiptail discovery is located approximately four miles southeast of the Uaru-1 discovery that was announced in January 2020 and approximately three miles west of the Yellowtail field.

Whiptail-1 is being drilled in 5,889 feet of water by the Stena DrillMAX.

“This discovery increases our confidence in the resource size and quality in the south-east area of the Stabroek Block and could form the basis for a future development as we continue to evaluate the best sequence of development opportunities within the block,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice-president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil.

In his statement, Bharrat said that the government “welcomes these new discoveries offshore Guyana and reinforces its commitment to the sustainable exploration and development of Guyana’s oil and gas resources.

“This we commit to do with the highest level of compliance and transparency to ensure that the benefits from this sector improve the lives of all Guyanese,” he added. -(CMC)