ExxonMobil to drill record number of wells in Stabroek Block – Rystad Energy

…as 16 wells expected offshore Guyana

Oil giant ExxonMobil looks set to drill a record number of wells in the Stabroek Block this year. Their drilling campaign included an overall annual record of 16 exploration wells planned for offshore Guyana.
This is according to Norwegian consultancy company Rystad Energy. According to the energy consultant, the record number of wells is good news notwithstanding Guyana starting the year off with the Bulletwood-1 well failing to find any commercial hydrocarbons.
“Guyana’s exploration activity will be spearheaded by ExxonMobil as operator of the Stabroek and Canje Blocks. Having set an ambitious divestment target of $15 billion by offloading mature assets in Asia, Europe, and Africa, the US supermajor is expected to prioritise investments in high-value assets such as Stabroek,” Rystad said.
“The company’s drilling activity will focus on firming up resources in the southeastern part of the Stabroek Block, where the operator identified deeper plays underneath the existing discoveries and is now eyeing the unexplored northwestern parts of the block. In addition, work is lined up on the Canje Block.”
Santosh Kumar, an analyst with Rystad Energy’s upstream team, explained in the statement that based on their data, close to 300 million barrels of oil have been discovered for each exploration well that has been drilled offshore Guyana. According to him, with 16 exploration wells planned, 2021 will be a promising year for exploration offshore Guyana.
Exxon had only recently spudded the Koebi-1 well in the Stabroek Block using drillship Stena Carron. This particular well was spudded on March 3 and drilling is expected to conclude on March 20.
Another well being drilled in the Stabroek Block is the Longtail-2 well. According to a notice from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), this well is being drilled in the Stabroek block by the Stena DrillMax from March 10 to March 27.
Meanwhile, Exxon is engaged in drilling the Jabillo-1 well within the Canje Block, using the Stena Carron drillship, between March 10 and March 27. This publication understands that the Stena Carron, after drilling the Jabillo-1 well and maintenance activities, will resume drilling on the Koebi-1 well.
The Jabillo-1 well happens to be the second of three exploration wells Exxon has scheduled for drilling the Canje Block in 2021. The other two are the Bulletwood-1 well and the still to be drilled Sapote-1 well.

CGX
Meanwhile, Canadian company CGX Energy also has plans to do drilling offshore Guyana this year. In fact, the company’s drill campaign, which is scheduled to kick off in the second half of 2021 with two wells being drilled in the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks, is expected to cost some US$90 million.
According to CGX Energy, the estimated total cost of US$90 million for its 2021 exploration programme is based on presently available information… an indication that this sum could be subject to change.
In a statement, the company had also given details of the two wells that will be drilled. The Kawa-1 well, which is earmarked for the Corentyne Block, will be drilled to a depth of approximately 6500 metres in 370-metre-deep water.
Meanwhile, the Makarapan-1 exploration well will be drilled in the Demerara to a total depth of approximately 3500 metres in water depth of approximately 1000 metres, significantly deeper water than the Kawa-1 well.
CGX and its Joint Venture partner Frontera Energy had previously commissioned an independent report, which had revealed that they are potentially sitting on 4.9 million Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) in the Demerara and Corentyne, Guyana oil blocks.
However, the report had hastened to add that there is no certainty that the company can recover the oil or that it is even commercially viable. According to the report, there are a total of 32 prospects in the two blocks, inclusive of 27 in the Corentyne Block and five in the Demerara Block.
CGX, which was under pressure due to drilling delays in the Corentyne oil block, is working with a November 27, 2021 deadline, by which time they are expected to commence drilling in the Corentyne Block.