Latest update April 3rd, 2026 12:35 AM
Exxon exits Canje Block after three dry wells
(Kaieteur News) – ExxonMobil does not plan to apply for a renewal or extension to its Licence to explore the Canje Block.
This was revealed by Country Manager, Alistair Routledge during a recent engagement with the press at the company’s Ogle, East Coast Demerara Headquarters.
He explained, “We are not planning to apply for any extension or renewal of the Canje Licence. We believe, we exceeded the commitments that were laid out in the Petroleum Agreement and the prospecting licence for Canje.”
Map showing the location of the Canje Block.
Exxon does not believe further prospecting activities in the block would be “competitive” for the company, according to the country manager.
He noted however that Exxon could not speak on behalf of its partners which will decide whether to pursue the block.
ExxonMobil was the operator of the Canje Block with a 35 per cent stake, with partners TotalEnergies with 35%, JHI Associates with 17.5%, and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas with 12.5%.
Kaieteur News understands that the exploration licence for the block expired early in March 2026.
The Canje Block was first awarded to Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas on March 4, 2015 at 6,100 sq. km or about 1.5 million acres. Exxon later farmed in and became the operator.
The first well by the company, Bulletwood-1, yielded a non-commercial discovery as was announced in March 2021.
The well was safely drilled in 2,846 meters of water by the Stena Carron drillship to its planned target depth of 6,690 meters. It was explained that the well encountered quality reservoirs but non-commercial hydrocarbons.
Jabillo-1, the second well that was drilled months later in the Canje Block also turned out to be a major disappointment as it did not show evidence of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
The well was drilled to test Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in a stratigraphic trap. It was positioned offshore Guyana, approximately 265 km northeast of Georgetown, in 2,903 meters of water and was safely drilled to a total depth of 6,475 meters.
Meanwhile, the third well, Sapote-1, also turned out dry with no evidence of commercial hydrocarbons. The well was drilled in 2,549 meters of water in the Canje Block to a total depth of 6,758 meters.
The Sapote-1 well is located in the southeastern section of Canje, about 50 km north of the Haimara discovery in the Stabroek Block which encountered ~207 feet (63 meters) of high-quality, gas-condensate bearing sandstone reservoir and approximately 60 km northwest of the Maka Central discovery in Block 58 which encountered ~164 feet (50 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
To date, Exxon has made over 40 discoveries in the resource-rich Stabroek Block which is estimated to hold over 11.6B barrels of oil.
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