Oil company trains 32 young Berbicians to conduct Geochemical surveys

Oct 28, 2018 News

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CGX Energy Inc, through its 62% owned subsidiary, ON Energy Inc., recently engaged in a tangible demonstration of how local content can be developed and harnessed by the Oil and Gas Sector.
The oil company embarked on an extensive Geochemical Survey of its onshore Berbice Block, utilizing almost 100% local content trained by the company.
An initiative which was announced by the company’s Executive Chairman and Guyanese Professor, Suresh Narine, at the Berbice Business Expo earlier in October, was made good on this week when 32 young Berbicians from the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, Upper Corentyne Technical Institute, New Amsterdam Technical Institute and GUYSUCO Port Mourant Training Centre were trained in the theoretical and technical aspects of Geochemical Surveying.
The training was conducted at the Tain Campus of the University of Guyana by three experts from Houston, Texas and one from Toronto, Canada. Professor Narine, himself a Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, also conducted part of the training.
The company originally announced that it would hire 20 of the 30 individuals who would be trained, but Prof. Narine explained that they were able, instead, to provide employment for all 32 students participating in the training. These students will all participate in the survey itself.
CGX indicated that it took the decision to train locals rather than contract experts from abroad since this type of surveying is likely to be utilized by other companies in the sector and therefore it opens the doors for locals trained in this type of analysis to be gainfully employed.
Narine even posited that CGX would provide some support for company creation if some of the locally trained individuals decided to set up a third-party company in Geochemical Surveying.
Narine indicated that the company has purchased the equipment necessary for the collection of samples and that the company would be pleased to donate this equipment, following the completion of its survey, to a locally formed company if this becomes a reality.
It all fits into the company’s focus on Corporate Social Responsibility in the education sector. Narine explained that the training focused on Berbice because the company’s onshore block and its deep-water port facility and shore base are located in Region Six. Therefore, the company has a commitment to the residents of the region.
The company, which also holds two offshore licences, is the only exploration company, which operates in the basin and has drilled three onshore wells, all in the Berbice Block. Its work plan stipulates that it conducts a 120 square kilometer Geochemical Survey on the Berbice Block. Prof. Narine explained that the company is conducting a 1100 square kilometer survey as ON Energy believes that the prospectivity onshore Guyana’s coast is significantly enhanced due to the recent finds by ExxonMobil and its partners offshore Guyana.
The oil finds offshore Guyana have been determined to be of the same type and source as oil finds onshore in Suriname in the Tambaredjo producing fields, leading to an increased level of prospectivity and interest in Guyana’s coast.
Because of this increased attention, Narine posits that extensive areas of the coast will now be surveyed using the non-invasive Geochemical Analysis, so as to further map the possible existence of commercial hydrocarbon deposits.
He emphasized that having a trained local force, which can conduct these surveys, positions those individuals well for additional employment.
Professor Narine added that the analysis is non-invasive and seeks to trap evolved gases from the soil by the insertion of a small probe into the earth. The evolved gases are then analyzed to assess the potential existence of petroleum reservoirs beneath the earth’s surface.
He said that the technique is also used to determine the existence of methane deposits, which can cause explosions if they are present when drilling occurs, such as the situation which arose in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
In fact, CGX has also briefed the Ministry of Finance on the utility of the technology in mapping problematic areas so that appropriate precautions can be taken by planning authorities. Therefore, persons trained in the analysis can also be deployed to conduct testing of areas where new water wells will be drilled or housing developments located.
ON Energy will be drilling an onshore well on its Berbice Block in 2023, and this initial survey is part of its analysis of the block, which will be followed by seismic analysis. For this survey, the collected gas samples will be sent to Texas for analysis, but Narine has indicated that CGX would be happy to work with contractors in Texas and other places to provide training to locals free of charge if there was interest in also developing the skills locally to chemically analyzing the evolved gases.

 

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