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Orinduik Block partners looking to cash in on heavy oil find from Jethro-1 well
By Shikema Dey
Map showing Orinduik Block location
Kaieteur News – Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas Limited yesterday announced that the steady increase in world oil prices will potentially see it moving ahead to monetize the heavy oil found in its Orinduik Block in 2019.
The discovery was first made on August 12, 2019 by Tullow Oil, the operator of the block.
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eco Atlantic, Gil Holzman, detailed this in the company’s Unaudited Results for the three and nine months ended 31 December, 2020 Corporate and Operational Update.
“We remain very confident in Guyana’s prospectivity as a hydrocarbon basin and the upside potential it offers. The recent increase in oil prices makes our existing discoveries in Guyana and drilling prospects inventory ever more attractive,” Holzman commented.
The Orinduik Block is adjacent and updip to the ExxonMobil Operated Stabroek Block; on which 18 discoveries have been announced over 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources.
Eco Atlantic CEO, Gil Holzman
Back in August 2019, Eco Atlantic and its Orinduik JV partners; Tullow Guyana and Total E&P Guyana had announced two massive oil finds from its Jethro-1 and Joe-1 wells, estimated to hold at least four billion barrels of oil.
The Jethro-1 exploration well was drilled by the Stena Forth drillship to a final depth of 14,331 feet (4,400 metres) in approximately 1,350 metres of water.
While the evaluation of logging data had confirmed that the Jethro-1 well comprised of high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir of Lower Tertiary age, the find turned out to be heavy oil with a similar discovery made at the Joe-1 well.
That type of crude find however, was not considered commercially viable at the time due to the high concentration of sulfur found in heavy oil. This meant that the oil produced more lower-valued products and requires extra refining to produce in-demand products.
But this did not deter the operators, and Eco Atlantic, which holds a 15% working interest in the Orinduik Block, engaged a third-party consultant with heavy oil development and economics expertise to help conduct preliminary evaluations related to production schemes and commercialization.
Eco stated in its report that it is fully funded for further drilling on the block and, with its JV Partners, is assessing all opportunities available to drill at least two exploration wells into the light oil cretaceous targets as soon as practical.
Eco Atlantic outlined as well that the company is fully aligned with its JV Partners on careful target selection based on the reprocessed 3D and the block and nearby oil discoveries for the next drilling campaign.
Eco Atlantic also expects to be able to update the market on further drilling plans in due course.
Meanwhile, the company detailed in its report that as at 31 December 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of US$16,350,090 with no debt and remains fully funded for its share (15% WI net) of its planned two exploration wells at the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana.
Additionally, as at 31 December 2020, the Eco Atlantic had total assets of US$17.7 million and a net equity position of US$17.4 million and has decreased its total non-exploration expenses, including general and administrative expense and compensation costs incurred during the nine months ended 31 December 2020 (H1 2021), when compared to the nine months ended 31 December 2019, by over 50%.
In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15% Working Interest alongside Total (25%) and Operator Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin.
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