ExxonMobil said on Monday it made an oil discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana at the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area. The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than 6 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block.
Tripletail-1 encountered approximately 108 feet (33 meters) of a high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir. Tripletail-1, drilled in 6,572 feet (2,003 meters) of water, is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) northeast of the Longtail discovery. After completion of operations at Tripletail, the Noble Tom Madden drillship will next drill the Uaru-1 well, located approximately 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the Liza field.
“This discovery helps to further inform the development of the Turbot area,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “Together with our partners, ExxonMobil is deploying industry-leading capabilities to identify projects that can be developed efficiently and in a cost-effective way.”
Director of Guyana’s Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe said, “This is another major development for the Co-operative Republic of Guyana which, along with 15 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.”
Commenting further, the Energy Director said, “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.”
Exploration and development activities are moving forward elsewhere on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. The Stena Carron drillship is currently drilling the Ranger-2 well and upon completion will conduct a well test at Yellowtail-1. The Noble Bob Douglas 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 we continue to optimize our drilling plans based on well results and ongoing study of the basin.
The Liza Phase 1 development remains on schedule to start up by early 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day utilizing the Liza Destiny floating production storage and Offloading (FPSO), which arrived in Guyana on August 29, 2019.
ExxonMobil approved funding for the Liza Phase 2 development after it received government and regulatory approvals in May 2019. Expected to startup by mid-2022, the project plans to use the Liza Unity FPSO to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day. Pending government approvals, a third development, Payara startup could be as early as 2023 and production would reach an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.
