Guyana soon to know if shallow-water blocks hold oil

Jun 26, 2026 News

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…as American company launches seismic activity

(Kaieteur News) – The Government of Guyana (GoG) and an American firm, CGG Services Inc. has commenced Geotechnical Surveying and Seismic surveying operations within Block S4 of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone to determine the potential of oil resources within that area.

Block S4, a shallow water block was awarded to French oil giant, Total Energies on November 11, 2025.

According to a notice published on Wednesday by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the exercise is scheduled to conclude on November 15, 2026. The SV BGP Prospector and OSV Moonrise-G will be used for the activity in the survey area which is situated approximately 16.98 nautical miles (31.4 kilometers) off the country’s coast and covering an area of 1782.28 square nautical miles (6113.05 square kilometers).

Seismic surveys are routinely used in offshore and gas exploration activities worldwide to detect and define geological structures under the seabed.

According to the Environmental Permit granted to the company by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CGG will be required to submit a report to government on the survey three months after completing the process.

Section 10.19 of the Permit states: “The Permit Holder shall submit an Operational Summary of the Seismic Survey within three (3) months after completion of the survey. The use of maps, figures and tables should be included where applicable. The Operational Summary should include a copy of the report prepared by the Marine Mammal Observers and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Observers.”

An operational summary for a seismic survey provides a detailed account of the entire lifecycle of the data collection process in the field. The document is the official record of the type of equipment used, how it was deployed and what challenges the crew encountered. A key feature of the summary is data quality and preliminary processing where evaluation of the signal-to-noise ratio and data quality in the field is explained.

According to the three-year permit obtained by CGG, the 3-D seismic survey will be conducted in shallow water between Lots 2-4, offshore Guyana.

An application for the initial oil exploration works was made by CGG, an affiliate company of the Viridien group. Viridien is a global advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that provides a comprehensive range of data, products, services and solutions for complex digital, energy transition, natural resource, environmental and infrastructure challenges. In addition to proprietary offshore projects for clients such as Exxon, which discovered the successful Liza field from CGG data, CGG acquired the only two offshore multi-client projects available for licensing in Guyana (Stabroek Phase 1 & 2).

Regionally, CGG recently completed a multi-client project in Suriname in 2023. Covering 1,800 sq km, Phase IV completed the programmed 14,500 sq km survey of newly acquired 3D data in deep and shallow water in the Guyana-Suriname basin.

On November 11, 2025, CGG applied for an Environmental Authorisation to the EPA, seeking to conduct geophysical 3D surveys within shallow waters offshore of Guyana. The areas for the shallow water survey are outlined on a map attached.

The survey area is offshore of Guyana, east of the border of Venezuela and west of the border of Suriname. The closest shore distance is around 120 km away and ranges with water depths approximately 10 to 70 metres deep.

The survey process

According to the Project Summary, a research vessel with a towed streamer will be used for the seismic acquisition. Towed streamer 3D seismic acquisition allows for the efficient and comprehensive mapping of offshore geological formations, providing valuable insights for oil and gas exploration and production activities.

“This is a common method used to gather detailed subsurface geological information in offshore exploration for oil and gas. CGG currently plans to use the BGP Prospector for this project.”

The company noted that the vessel is fully furnished with state-of-the-art equipment for seismic 3D surveys.

Kaieteur News understands that the activities will be conducted in a total of eight phases beginning with setup and deployment, data acquisition and closing with data processing and interpretation.

Marine seismic data acquisition is based on the principle of ‘seismic reflection’. The method involves releasing pulses of acoustic energy (i.e. sound waves) at regular intervals along designated transect lines. In general, the energy penetrates subsurface formations and is reflected back to the surface where it can be detected by acoustic receivers, or hydrophones, encased in a long cable (i.e. streamer), which is towed behind the seismic vessel. Each time a seismic pulse meets a change in rock properties; part of the pulse is reflected back to the surface and received by the hydrophones. Consequently, by measuring precisely the difference in arrival time of reflected seismic energy, distinct subsurface rock layers can be identified, and subsequently mapped. This map helps geoscientists understand the geology and structure of natural resources. It plays an integral role in decision making when exploring for and developing oil and gas reserves in ocean waters.

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• ExxonMobil, Guyana Oil, Oil discovery, oil potential, shallow-water blocks

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