Historical oil shows, reservoir-quality sands, and potential hydrocarbon traps indicate what Guyana’s onshore Berbice Block could hold, although no commercial petroleum accumulation has been established.
Former operator CGX Energy outlined the block’s geological potential in a technical presentation published in October 2020. The company cited evidence that oil had migrated into onshore Guyana and identified structures that could trap hydrocarbons.
A Dominican Republic-led consortium now holds the agreement to explore the acreage. Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said in July 2026 that the agreement provides an initial three-year exploration period. The government expects activities to begin within four to six months.
The Berbice Block covers approximately 2,470 square kilometers, according to information currently published by Guyana’s Petroleum Management Programme. It stretches across part of the country’s eastern coastal region.
CGX’s October 2020 presentation reported results from five historical wells within the acreage.
Rose Hall-1, drilled by an earlier operator in 1942, encountered what CGX described as good oil shows. L’Esperance-1, drilled in 1966, encountered sands but no hydrocarbon shows.
CGX later drilled Albion-1, Yakusari-1, and Hermitage-1 through ON Energy. The government’s exploration history records Albion-1 and Yakusari-1 as 2005 wells. It lists the three wells as dry holes, meaning they did not establish commercial petroleum accumulations.
However, CGX reported that the wells encountered reservoir-quality sands. Its October 2020 assessment identified possible oil shows at Albion-1 and Hermitage-1 and possible trace hydrocarbons at Yakusari-1.
The company also presented well-log interpretations showing oil indications in porous Early Cretaceous sands and potential hydrocarbon-bearing intervals in Late Cretaceous formations. These were company interpretations and were not reported as certified discoveries.
Two-dimensional seismic data indicated large structures and changes in reservoir thickness that CGX considered capable of forming hydrocarbon traps. The presentation also cited reported oil and gas seeps in Guyana and the producing Tambaredjo and Calcutta onshore fields in neighboring Suriname as part of its geological case.
CGX also conducted an onshore geochemical survey in 2018. The field program ran from October 27 to November 4 and was intended to guide further seismic work across the block.
No publicly verified oil or gas resource estimate has been assigned to the Berbice Block.
