Both United Kingdom based Tullow oil and US oil giant ExxonMobil have found more oil offshore Guyana.

This means that to date, there have been a total of 16 oil discoveries: 14 from ExxonMobil and 2 from Tullow.

See press statements below:

Tullow Oil

Tullow discovers oil in Joe-1 well
Georgetown, Guyana – (September 16, 2019): Director, Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, today, announced that UK-based Tullow Oil plc’s (Tullow) Joe-1 exploration well has successfully opened a new Upper Tertiary oil play in the Guyana basin.

This is second discovery of oil in two different wells operated by Tullow, in less than six weeks.

“The Co-operative Republic of Guyana continues to be encouraged by the prolific rate of discovery in our country. Every Guyanese can be assured that the Government will continue to work conscientiously to pursue the most effective and efficient marketing strategies of Guyana’s crude entitlement to transform our economy and to implement sustainable development programmes from which all Guyanese can benefit,” Dr. Bynoe said.

The Joe-1 exploration well was drilled by the Stena Forth drillship to a total depth of 2,175 metres in water depth of 780 metres. The evaluation of logging and sampling data confirms that Joe-1 has encountered 14 metres of net oil pay in high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs of Upper Tertiary age.

The Energy Director explained that the Joe-1 well is the first oil discovery to be made in the Upper Tertiary play type, which further de-risks the petroleum system of the western area of the Orinduik block, where a significant number of Tertiary and Cretaceous age prospects have been identified.

“Guyana’s future is bright but more importantly, the time is ripe for all Guyanese to focus on how they want to see their oil revenues spent and invested”, Dr. Bynoe said.

Meanwhile, the Repsol-operated Carapa-1 well on the Kanuku licence (Tullow 37.5 per cent) is scheduled to commence drilling in late September with the Rowan EXL II jack-up rig and will test the Cretaceous oil play with a result due in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Further, Dr. Bynoe said, Tullow and its partners will now evaluate data from the Joe-1 discovery alongside data from the Jethro-1 discovery announced in August 2019 and await the outcome of the Carapa well to determine the optimal follow-on exploration and appraisal programme.

The well was drilled on the Orinduik licence, offshore Guyana by Tullow’s wholly owned subsidiary Tullow Guyana B.V. Tullow Guyana B.V. is the operator of the Orinduik block with a 60 per cent stake. Total E&P Guyana B.V. holds 25 per cent with the remaining 15 per cent being held by Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Incorporated.

On completion of operations, the Stena Forth drill ship will depart Guyana and return to Ghana.

ExxonMobil

Dear all,

Please see below and attached.

Thanks.

For Immediate Release:
ExxonMobil makes 1st Tripletail-1 well discovery offshore Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana – (September 16, 2019) Director, Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, today, announced that ExxonMobil made an oil discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana at the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area. This well was being drilled by the Tom Madden drillship.
This discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than six billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block.
“This is another major development for the Co-operative Republic of Guyana which, along with 14 other oil discoveries, has the potential to advance the country’s economy and propel it towards impactful and sustained development.The Department of Energy (DE) continues to be encouraged by the prolific rate of discovery of high-quality hydrocarbons offshore Guyana as the discoveries add to the further de-risking of this play type in the deep and ultra-deep zones,” Dr. Bynoe said.

The Tripletail-1 well is located approximately three miles (five kilometres) northeast of the Longtail discovery. The well was drilled in 6,572 feet (2,003 meters) of water and encountered approximately 108feet (33 meters) of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.

“This discovery is another indication that Guyana’s future is bright. But we can only secure that future through stronger collaboration, an improved legislative environment, and a cohesiveness that is most necessary at this time than at any time in our country’s history. The DE, along with its partner institutions, will continue to work assiduously and efficiently to ensure that we extract the best value from these resources for our nation and people,” the Energy Director said.

On completion of the operations at Tripletail, the Noble Tom Madden drillship will next drill the Uaru-1 well, located approximately six miles (10 kilometres) east of the Liza field.

With this new find, ExxonMobil is expected to continue to move forward exploration and development activities elsewhere on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. The Stena Carron drill ship is currently drilling the Ranger-2 well and upon completion will conduct a well test at Yellowtail-1. The Bible Bod Doglas drillship is currently completing development drilling operations for the Liza Phase 1 project.

ExxonMobil will add a fourth drillship, the Noble Don Taylor, in October 2019 as the company continues to optimize its drilling plans, based on well results and the ongoing study of the basin.
Previously, ExxonMobil announced plans to have at least five FPSO vessels on the Stabroek Block, which will produce more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025. The Liza Phase 1 development is on track to start-up by early 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, utilizing the Liza Destiny FPSO.

ExxonMobil approves funding for the Liza Phase 2 development after it received Government and regulatory approvals in May 2019.

Plans are in train to start-up by mid-2022, using the Liza Unity FPSO to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

Further, pending Government approvals, a third development, the Payara start-up could be as early as 2023 and production is expected to reach an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest.