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‘Exxon pushes deeper’ – EPA weighing fresh Stabroek Block exploration bid from company
(Kaieteur News) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received an application from Tidewater Marine International Inc. for the drilling of an exploration well in the Stabroek Block.
The 26,800 square kilometer block is operated by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL). It is unclear why the application was made by Tidewater and not the oil company for the drilling works.
Map showing several discoveries made to date by ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block
According to the Project Summary seen by Kaieteur News, “The proposed well is approximately 200 km from Port Georgetown in a North Easterly direction in the Atlantic Ocean, which covers almost 27,000 square kilometers.”
This newspaper understands that the exploration drilling is scheduled for the period September 2025 to October 2026. There is no indication on the regulator’s website that approval was granted for the drilling works.
In its Project Summary, Tidewater highlighted potential impacts to the environment including an oil spill and emissions to air and water due to incidents.
“Emissions to air and water due to incidents involving collision, grounding and in worst case scenario total vessel loss, are very rare events. However, in the event of any of the aforementioned happening, the potential for significant pollution would be high,” the document states.
Earlier this year, EMGL President, Alistair Routledge said the company will be targeting at least one more discovery in 2025 to augment the 11 billion barrels of resources already discovered there.
He said, “We drilled some large exploration wells last year, we are digesting the results of those. In the meantime, we have identified one exploration well that we are progressing the approvals for with the government and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).”
“That well will be called Hamlet- the Hamlet One well. That’s actually looking for an oil play in the southeast portion of the Stabroek Block,” Routledge added.
To date, ExxonMobil has made 46 discoveries in the 6.6 million acres block, as pointed out by Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh in his 2025 Budget presentation. In 2024, some five new discoveries were announced by the oil company.
Exxon said it will continue its exploration programme this year, targeting wells with attractive prospects. Routledge noted, “We still have an active programme. I don’t know what the final number of exploration (and) appraisal wells will be this year because it depends also on the results of the wells that we drilled late last year and we are going through and assessing what the targets are that we’d like to pursue and also the licensing process that we go through with the ministry and the EPA.”
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