Latest update April 3rd, 2026 12:35 AM
Exxon completes appraisal of two more discoveries
…but still silent on country’s oil reserves
(Kaieteur News) – ExxonMobil in 2025 completed appraising two major oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block, Lukanani and Ranger.
This was revealed by CNOOC, a 25% shareholder in the block. The company in its 2025 Annual Report highlighted “fruitful achievements in exploration” with new discoveries and appraisal activities conducted in China and overseas.
ExxonMobil Guyana Country Manager, Alistair Routledge
As part of its overseas basin, the Chinese owned oil company reported, “The Lukanani oilfield and Ranger oilfield were successfully appraised in Guyana.”
Appraisal is conducted after hydrocarbons are discovered. This is a critical phase that allows companies to better under the quality and quantity of resources within the reservoir. This rigorous process involves drilling of wells and testing of fluid properties. The process reduces uncertainty in resource volumes, helping companies to make informed investment decisions.
Notably, although Exxon completed appraising the discoveries, it offered no update to the public on these results.
The Ranger One discovery was made by ExxonMobil since January 2018. At the time, the oil giant described the discovery- its sixth- as the company’s largest on record in Guyana. It explained that it began drilling the Ranger-1 well on November 5, 2017 and encountered approximately 230 feet (70 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing carbonate reservoir. The well was safely drilled to 21,161 feet (6,450 meters) depth in 8,973 feet (2,735 meters) of water.
Meanwhile, Exxon announced the Lukanani- 1 discovery in April 2022. The Lukanani-1 well encountered 115 feet (35 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in a water depth of 4,068 feet (1,240 meters).
Even though the company concluded appraising the wells, Exxon recently told Kaieteur News that there have not been any significant changes to the country’s oil reserves.
During a press conference on March 19, 2026 President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge said, “Well, in the reserves, when we approved the Hammerhead project, we added, I mean, I think our share of, you know, roughly 40 per cent of the resource that we said was proved, as we develop the Hammerhead project would then be added into that proved category for us.” Consequently, the country manager noted, “On the estimated ultimate recovery, it’s still, you know, close to 11, is somewhere in that vicinity. But there’s a lot of, as we continue to do, appraisal work, and we produce reservoirs and we gather data. There’s, you know, puts and takes as we go through that assessment.”
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