…Govt welcomes 39th oil find in Stabroek Block, 44th in Guyana’s waters
ExxonMobil has made yet another oil discovery in Guyana’s prolific offshore Stabroek Block, with the news of this new discovery being shared by Hess Corporation, ExxonMobil’s partner in the Block.
According to information shared by Hess Corp, 28 metres (92 feet) of oil-bearing sandstone was found in the Lancetfish-1 well. The well, according to Hess, was drilled by the Noble Don Taylor and is located some four miles southeast of the Fangtooth well, Exxon’s discovery earlier this year.
While Lancetfish is a triumph, it was a more sombre story for another well that was drilled during the first quarter. According to Hess, the Kokwari-1 exploration well did not encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
Meanwhile, the Natural Resources Ministry, which is headed by Minister Vickram Bharrat, welcomed the oil find. According to the Ministry in its statement, the find represents Exxon’s 39th discovery in the Stabroek Block.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources is pleased to announce that the Lancetfish-1 exploration well in the Stabroek Block encountered 28 metres of oil-bearing sandstone. This well was drilled at a water depth of 1781 metres. It brings the total number of discoveries in the Stabroek Block to 39 and the total number of discoveries offshore Guyana to 44 from 2015 to present,” the Ministry said.
Exxon is currently conducting 3D and 4D mapping in the Stabroek Block, even as it also seeks authorisation for a 35-well drilling campaign. According to reports in other sections of the media, the Government has already advanced authorisation for Exxon’s fifth development, the Uaru project in the Stabroek Block.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is quoted in Demerara Waves as saying that Uaru had been approved by the Government, after it would have gone through “vigorous analysis” by external consultants. He is also reported to have said that the project would cost close to US$12 billion.
The Uaru oil development, which will be the fifth one for the company offshore Guyana, is targeting between 38 and 63 development wells, including production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells. Exxon had previously also made known that it anticipated first oil from the Uaru development by late 2026 or early 2027.
Exxon is currently seeking authorisation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 35 exploration/appraisal wells in the Stabroek Block. According to the company’s application, if all requisite approvals are granted then the drilling of the wells is expected to start in the 2023 third quarter, with the proposed drilling campaign coming to an end by the fourth quarter of 2028.
The Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of the 35 exploration/appraisal wells planned for the Stabroek Block was done by ERM Guyana, which conducts environmental, health, safety and risk assessments. It had said that no major environmental impacts would result from the project.
Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. Guyana’s oil revenues are being held in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), holds 45 per cent interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.
Since last year, Guyana has been recording weekly lifts in the Stabroek Block with oil production now at 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels. With EEPGL making weekly lifts, Guyana’s crude entitlement of one million barrels occurs monthly from the two FPSOs.
ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. Production has already started in the second phase, with the Liza Unity FPSO vessel in operation.
The third project – the Payara development – will target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels, and was at one point considered to be the largest single planned investment in the history of Guyana.
Meanwhile, the Yellowtail development, which will be oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth development in Guyana’s waters, will turn out to be the single largest development so far in terms of barrels per day of oil, with a mammoth 250,000 bpd targeted. (G3)
