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ExxonMobil to bring in another drill ship
…as operator ramps up oil exploration offshore Guyana
The Noble Sam Croft—ExxonMobil’s latest addition to its fleet of drill ships for exploration in Guyana.
Kaieteur News – Primary operator in the Kaieteur, Canje and Stabroek Blocks oil fields in Guyana—ExxonMobil—through its Guyana subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Petroleum Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is preparing to bring its sixth drill ship to add to its current exploration fleet.
This, according to a recent Rystad Energy Offshore Rig Tracker report, which currently documents that three of the drill ships in employ of the oil major’s fleet are currently located in the greater Liza area performing development drilling activity.
The recently arrived Stena DrillMAX already initiated drilling activities on the Longtail-2 appraisal well, while the Stena Carron, which recently concluded drilling Bulletwood-1, has already spudded the Jabillo-1 exploration well in the Canje Block.
According to the report, ExxonMobil’s fleet of contracted drill ships in Guyana is now set to increase to six, with the arrival of the Noble Sam Croft in April, with the operator looking to spud 16 more wells offshore Guyana in 2021.
The year started with an exploration dry run as a partner in the ExxonMobil-operated Canje Block last week revealed that the first well in the block failed to deliver.
The Bulletwood-1 well subsequently encountered quality reservoirs but in non-commercial quantities, according to a public report that had been issued by Westmount Energy, which holds a stake in Canje partner, JHI Associates.
Guyana’s exploration activity is being spearheaded by ExxonMobil as operator of the Kaieteur, Stabroek and Canje Blocks.
The company’s drilling activity for 2021, according to the reports, will focus on firming up resources in the southeastern part of the Stabroek Block, where the operator identified deeper plays underneath the existing discoveries and is now eyeing the unexplored northwestern parts of the block.
This is in addition to work that is lined up on the Canje Block.
Santosh Kumar, analyst with Rystad Energy’s upstream team, has since underscored that “Rystad Energy data suggests that close to 300 million barrels of oil equivalent has been discovered on average for each exploration well drilled in the country over the past six years” and with around 16 exploration wells planned, including some in riskier frontier regions, 2021 holds a lot of promise.”
ExxonMobil last year said it had identified considerable undrilled potential of more than 50 leads in the blocks it operates in Guyana’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and had announced plans to do more drilling in prospects targeted in the Kaieteur, Canje and Stabroek Blocks.
The company in its exploration campaign in Guyana recently made a discovery in the Kaieteur Block, while drilling its first well there and deepest by far offshore Guyana.
In 2019, ExxonMobil relinquished a portion of the Canje Block under the terms of the exploration licence, reducing the size of the contract area from 6,100 square kilometers (sq. km.) to 4,800 sq. km.
It is anticipated that with just over a dozen initial prospects identified for exploration in the Canje Block, it will yield some 10 billion barrels of oil.
It was noted too that ExxonMobil along with its partners are looking to deploy four Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (F PSOs) to develop the existing resources within the block.
The energy firm noted too that success at this year’s Mako-2 and Uaru-2 wells on the Stabroek Block could potentially firm up the areas as a candidate for the next FPSO location.
On the Canje Block, plans are in place to drill two wells in 2021 in addition to the non-commercial Bulletwood-1 find, with the Jabillo well already in progress.
No further exploration plans are expected for the Kaieteur Block.
Canada-based explorer, CGX Energy, operates the Demerara and Corentyne Blocks with 66.67% interests, with Frontera Energy as its consortium partner.
The plan for 2021 consists of up to two exploration wells, at a combined estimated cost of about $90 million.
According to Rystad, there are no drilling plans reported for this year as yet on the Repsol-operated Kanuku Block and Tullow Oil’s Orinduik Block.
The report observed meanwhile, that in eastern Guyanese waters there are only two unallocated blocks: block C, which lies east of the Kaieteur Block and north of Stabroek, and a smaller 1,325-sq km (512-sq mi) block, which was relinquished by the Canje consortium.
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