Guyana among countries that will drive worldwide drilling

Oil and gas exploration

Guyana, which has a plethora of oil exploration activities planned for 2021, is expected to be one of only a few countries that will drive exploration activities over the next two years. This is according to Norwegian oil and gas consultant Rystad Energy.

In its analysis, Rystad Energy noted that while oil exploration levels will recover over the next two years, they will not reach pre-COVID levels such as the 73,000 wells that were drilled in 2019.
According to the consultancy firm, there is likely to be a 12 per cent increase in overall drilling, compared to 2020. When it comes to offshore wells, the company is expecting a 10 per cent increase. And the company cited Guyana as one of the countries that will contribute to this recovery.
“In the offshore segment, we expect drilling activity to increase year-on-year by about 10 per cent in both 2021 and 2022. This will bring the number of offshore wells drilled to nearly 2500 this year, from less than 2300 in 2020, and we forecast that the corresponding number for 2022 will surpass 2700,” the consultant said.
“Such a healthy recovery is in fact poised to propel offshore drilling activity beyond pre-pandemic levels during the next two years, as the number of offshore wells drilled globally in 2019 was just shy of 2500… most of the deepwater growth comes from North and South America, where Brazil, Guyana and Mexico are the most prominent drivers of the upswing.”
According to analyst Daniel Holmedal, who was quoted in the analysis, the next few years will see South America and the Middle East replacing the North American shale sector when it comes to production growth.
“In contrast to previous years, when the North American shale sector led production growth, we expect the onshore and offshore shelf in the Middle East and the deepwater market in South America to be the main drivers of growth going forward.”
“To recover production levels, operators will have to launch new drilling plans in tandem with maintenance and enhancement programmes for existing wells, opening significant opportunities for well service suppliers in the years ahead,” Holmedal said.
In sharp contrast to South America and the Middle East, Rystad noted that the deepwater markets in Europe and Africa are expected to remain relatively stagnant compared to other top regions in 2021.
Already, ExxonMobil has established an ambitious oil exploration plan for 2021 offshore Guyana. Over the past few weeks Exxon, the only company to have found and started producing oil in local waters, has been making preparations to drill simultaneous deepwater wells in both the Stabroek and Canje Blocks.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Exxon’s subsidiary, spudded the Koebi-1 well last week in the Stabroek Block using drillship Stena Carron. This particular well was spudded on March 3 and drilling will 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 had started 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 in the Canje Block in 2021. The other two are the Bulletwood-1 well and the still to be drilled Sapote-1 well.
Canadian owned CGX Energy also has plans to drill wells this year. Its 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.
On the other hand, its Makarapan-1 exploration well will be drilled in the Demerara Block to a total depth of approximately 3500 metres in water depth of approximately 1000 metres. (G3)