Eco Atlantic grabs up shares in suspiciously awarded Canje Block

Jun 29, 2021 News

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Kaieteur News – Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Limited, an oil and gas exploration company with licences in the proven oil province of Guyana and the highly prospective basins of Namibia, was pleased to announce yesterday that it acquired a 10 percent interest in JHI Associates Inc.
Kaieteur News would have previously reported that JHI is a privately owned company that is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Despite having zero background in deepwater drilling, it holds a 17.5 percent working interest in the Canje Block, which was suspiciously awarded under the Donald Ramotar administration.
The said concession is operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). Other companies with stakes in the offshore concession include Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Guyana B.V. with 35 percent and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. with 12.5 percent.
It should be noted that JHI is a Guyana pure-play deepwater exploration company that was only founded in 2011. In 2014, JHI had teamed up with Guyana-based Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas Inc. (“MOGI”) which was awarded the Canje Block in 2015. Both companies are industry unknowns.
In 2016, ExxonMobil joined the Canje Block as Operator, and in 2018 Total Energies farmed into the Block. Five years of extensive technical and seismic data analysis led to the Canje partners identifying multiple drillable prospects and successfully applying for a multi-well drilling permit.
The 2021 multi-well exploration programme on the Canje Block seeks to test the extension of the prolific hydrocarbon system, which has resulted in over nine billion barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable resources being discovered in the adjacent Stabroek Block since 2015.
It should be noted that this transaction would increase Eco Atlantic’s presence in the Guyana-Suriname basin to include a three well drilling programme, with the first two firm wells on the Canje Block drilling in 2021 and at least one on the Orinduik Block, subject to partner approval. The Jabillo-1 well is currently being drilled on the Canje Block utilising the Stena Carron drillship with results expected in July. The Sapote-1 well is scheduled to be drilled later this year in the third quarter by the Stena DrillMax in the eastern portion of the Canje Block, which Eco will also have exposure to through its shareholding in JHI.
Eco disclosed to the international market yesterday that JHI is carried on the costs for the drilling of the first well, Jabillo-1, and would also be carried for an offsetting appraisal well in the case of a discovery.
Led by ExxonMobil as the Operator and technical lead, Eco said the wells offer an opportunity to participate in an anticipated extension of the Stabroek Block Oil discovery trend, thereby building on the over nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources already discovered.
It was further noted that Eco Atlantic has funded the JHI Investment through its own cash reserves, and intends to complete an associated private placement with its strategic partner Africa Oil Corp. (“Africa Oil”) and with Charlestown Energy Partners LLC (“Charlestown Energy”), a private equity firm based in New York, USA, to raise additional funds of approximately $6.1M CAD (US$4.9M).
In Guyana’s Orinduik Block, Eco holds a 15 percent Working Interest alongside TOQAP Guyana B.V., a company jointly owned by Total E&P Guyana B.V. and Qatar Petroleum, and the Operator Tullow Oil with 60 percent.
The Orinduik Block is adjacent and up dip to ExxonMobil Operated Stabroek Block, on which 20 discoveries have been announced.
Jethro-1 was the first major oil discovery in the Orinduik Block. The Jethro-1 encountered 180.5 feet (55 meters) of net heavy oil pay in excellent Lower Tertiary sandstone reservoirs, which further proves recoverable oil resources.
Joe-1 is the second discovery on the Orinduik Block and comprises high quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir, with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age. The Joe-1 well encountered 52 feet (16 meters) of continuous thick sandstone, which further proves the presence of recoverable oil resources.
In Namibia, the company holds interests in four offshore petroleum licences totalling approximately 28,593km2 with over 2.362bboe of prospective P50 resources in the Walvis Basin. These four licences, Cooper, Guy, Sharon and Tamar are being developed alongside partners Azinam and NAMCOR. Eco has been granted a drilling permit on its Cooper Block (Operator).
Eco Atlantic is also a 70 percent shareholder in Solear Ltd., an independent private clean energy investment company focused on low cost, high yield solar development projects in southern Europe.
Solear offers investors exposure to a portfolio of pre-construction opportunities across the renewable energy value chain, from Ready-to-Build to early-stage development.

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