Oil exploration expected in Orinduik, Kanuku and Corentyne Blocks

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─ one field will be drilled by Tullow Oil; another by Repsol Energy Company and the other by CGX Energy Inc.,

─ potential for acceleration and exploration drilling in Canje area proposed and being discussed

─ Stabroek Block exploration by ExxonMobil continues to churn out successes above normal industry levels with the 11th and 12th discoveries at Tilapia-1 and Haimara-2

─ Guyana surpassed the estimated amount of 5 Billion oil-equivalent barrels

DPI, Guyana, Monday, February 11, 2019

Head of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, today announced that based on indications from oil and gas operators, additional oil exploration drilling is expected to be conducted in the Orinduik, Kanuku and Corentyne Blocks.

Dr. Bynoe was speaking at a press briefing today at the Ministry of the Presidency. Going forward, the DoE Head said, as it relates to the acceleration and drilling programme, one field will be drilled in the Orinduik Block by Tullow Oil; another in the Kanuku Block by Repsol Energy Company and one other in the Corentyne Block by CGX Energy Incorporated. The two latter explorations will be done using jack-up rigs.

Dr. Bynoe also added the potential for acceleration and exploration drilling in the Canje area is has been proposed and is under discussion.

He said that the department continues to work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that these intended areas are within Guyana’s waters. “What we have been doing continually, from the time the department was established, any drilling activities that are occurring, we tend to consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The Stabroek Block exploration by ExxonMobil continues to churn out successes above normal industry levels with the 11th and 12th discoveries at Tilapia-1 and Haimara-2, last week.

As a result, Dr. Bynoe noted that Guyana surpassed the estimated amount of 5 Billion oil-equivalent barrels.

According to Dr. Bynoe, these discoveries, while they remain positive news for Guyana, they also lead to a more complex form of field and area development that will incorporate gas development as well.

“For example, four of the 12 discoveries have been in the Turbot area alone, with inter alia implications for a gas export scheme centred around the Turbot area as there is more associated gas in these fields as previously projected. The API in the various fields is not uniform as is to be expected and may require some of the gas being used for reinjection purposes to increase the rate of petroleum recovery such as at Hammerhead where the viscosity tends to be somewhat heavier.”

Further, the DoE Head said that there is a need for the operator to conduct 4D seismic surveys around the Turbot areas to assist in development planning. A such, the operator has indicated its intention to submit a field development plan by the second quarter for the Payara field for approval by the fourth quarter of this year, thus leading to the third Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO).

The FPSO for Payara and other wells is almost double the size of that which is to come under the Liza destiny, Dr. Bynoe said.

Liza 1, Liza deep, Payara, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger, Pacora, Longtail-1, Hammerhead 1, Pluma-1, Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1, are the ExxonMobil oil finds in Guyana’s water to date.

Oil production from these wells is expected to yield significant revenue that can create a large number of jobs in the manufacturing of value-added agricultural products and the development of its physical infrastructure, while at the same time delivering quality education for a diversified economy.

Synieka Thorne.

Image: Kawise Wishart.