…company renegotiates oil exploration plan with Govt
Canada-based oil and gas exploration company CGX has announced plans to conduct an offshore exploration whereby it will be drilling the Corentyne block by November 27, 2019 in search of oil.
The company, which has had operations in Guyana for many years, made the announcement on Monday, stating that it has renegotiated its work plan with the Guyana Government.
As part of the renegotiation, the company has also agreed to relinquish 25 per cent of the acreage of both the Corentyne and Demerara blocks to the Government of Guyana.
The new work commitments include drilling and exploration wells (Corentyne Block) by November 27, 2022; and acquiring additional seismic data or conducting seismic reprocessing by November 27, 2020.
Additionally, the company will also complete any additional data processing and planning, and secure all regulatory approvals for the drilling of an exploration well by February 12, 2020 (Demerara Block).
In that same block, it will also drill an exploration well by February 12, 2021 and February 12, 2023.
For the Berbice Block, CGX will complete a geochemical survey of a minimum area of 120 square kilometres and commence a seismic programme defined by the survey by February 12, 2020.
It will also complete the seismic programme and complete all processing and interpretation of data by August 12, 2021, and drill an exploration well by February 12, 2023.
Chairman and Executive Director (Guyana), Professor Suresh Narine commented: “CGX Energy thanks the Government of Guyana for its continued partnership and support; we as a company are eager to pursue the new work commitments in this exciting Guyana basin, and in so doing, continue our unbroken commitment to the basin, the Guyanese people and its Government for more than 18 years.”
Earlier this year, CGX was borrowing monies from its shareholder to stay afloat, and indicated that future oil exploration offshore Guyana would depend on restructuring its debts to several companies. With the major oil find by ExxonMobil, CGX said it hoped that it would be able to conduct further exploration.
The highly-indebted CGX Energy had suffered a delay in carrying out further exploration offshore Guyana and had hoped that Government would favourably consider its request for a new date.
In May, CGX said it was negotiating with its trade creditors, including with respect to the approximately US$14.4 million owed to Japan Drilling Co Ltd, approximately US$9.5 million owed to Prospector PTE Ltd, and the approximately US$2.9 million owed to Teikoku Oil (Suriname) Co Ltd, all excluding interest, with a view to determining how to address these significant payables in light of depressed oil prices.
Guyana-focused CGX has been licensed to drill on the Eagle block since 1998 when it was granted a 10-year permit. But the company became ensnared in a maritime border dispute between Guyana and Suriname, and watched as a rig it had contracted in 2000 was chased off the site it was preparing to drill by Suriname gunboats. The border dispute was settled in 2007.
CGX drilled several wells offshore thereafter, but did not find oil in commercial quantities. It also attempted several wells onshore in Berbice.
