Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
Despite COVID-19…ExxonMobil will still pursue first exploration well on Kaieteur Block this year
In spite of the debilitating circumstances of the novel coronavirus, the discovery of potential riches that lay deep within the rocks of the Kaieteur Block is simply too tempting to be pushed over to 2021 hence ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) will still pursue exploration this year.
Map showing location of Kaieteur Block and its proximity to the Stabroek Block.
While ExxonMobil has been tight-lipped about its plans in this regard, a UK firm, Westmount Energy Limited, was forthcoming with shareholders a few weeks ago about plans for Kaieteur.
Westmount said subject to any operational delays introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that drilling will commence in the second quarter of 2020 with the Tanager-1 well being the main drilling target.
Also reporting on the matter recently was Upstream Oil. The online news agency was able to confirm with its sources that ExxonMobil will drill the Tanager-1 well before an adjusted mid-September deadline. It also noted that the drillship Stena Carron has been lined up to drill the Tanager prospect in 2900 metres of water and to a targeted total depth of 8000 metres. When contacted about the accuracy of this report by Upstream, ExxonMobil’s Public Relations and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud said she was unable to clarify.
In a report commissioned by one of Exxon’s partners on the Kaieteur Block, the Tanager Prospect is described as a stacked reservoir prospect (Maastrichtian to Turonian reservoir intervals) and assigns a ‘Best Estimate’ of the unrisked Prospective Oil Resource to be about 256.2 million barrels, with an aggregate probability of geologic success pegged at 72%.
The Kaieteur Block is located approximately 155 miles (250 kilometers) offshore Guyana and is adjacent to the Stabroek Block where total recoverable resources of more than 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent have been discovered to date.
The Kaieteur Block covers 3.3 million acres (13,535 square kilometers) and is located in ultra-deep waters. Three-D seismic survey was completed in 2017 on this block.
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