The Noble Bob Douglas – ExxonMobil Guyana’s second drillship – recently arrived in the South American country and is currently drilling its first exploration well at the Sorubim field some 83 nautical miles offshore.
“We brought our second drillship into Guyana waters. It is the Noble Bob Douglas and it is actually here to start drilling the development wells for Liza Phase 1. However, before it starts on its development work, it is currently drilling its first exploration well, which is Sorubim,” ExxonMobil Guyana Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs, Kimberly Brasington, told OilNOW on Friday.
The Noble Bob Douglas, Ms. Brasington said, was contracted to ensure there is no impact to the company’s operations offshore which includes a combination of exploration and development activities.
“The reason we brought in a second drilling rig is so there is no impact. So we are going to keep the Stena rig doing exploration drilling…continuing to look for more resources and then the Noble Bob Douglas – the second rig – will be dedicated to drilling the development wells to start the actual process towards first oil. So this is actually drilling the 17 wells for Liza Phase 1 and that is what this drillship will be doing,” she said.
The Noble Bob Douglas, built in 2013, has the capacity to drill up to 40,000 ft below the seabed in 10000 ft of water.