The South American country of Guyana has entered the new decade as an oil producer with a total of 18 discoveries made since 2015. There also remains massive potential for more discoveries from ongoing and planned exploration campaigns by multiple companies operating across several blocks offshore.
US oil major ExxonMobil changed the course of Guyana’s destiny when it discovered the giant Liza field in 2015. The company has made a total of 15 discoveries with just two dry holes at the prolific Stabroek Block where estimated resources exceed 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
In 2019 alone, 7 discoveries were made offshore; 5 from ExxonMobil and 2 (Jethro, Joe) from Tullow Oil in the Orinduik block. Repsol made its first discovery at the Carapa-1 well, announced in January 2020 by Tullow Oil, at the Kanuku Block.
While the Orinduik and Kanuku discoveries may not be developed due to heavy oil (Jethro and Joe) and low volumes (Carapa), analysts say they have provided important technical data.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s oil strikes at Stabroek seem to all have high potential for development. The company expects to be producing upwards of 750,000 bpd by 2025 from five developments at the Stabroek Block.
2019 oil discoveries
- The Tilapia discovery was announced in February 2019. Tilapia is ExxonMobil’s 11th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block. The Tilapia- 1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 305 feet (93 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,786 feet (5,726 meters) in 5,850 feet (1,783 meters) of water.
- The Haimara discovery was announced in February 2019. Haimara is ExxonMobil’s 12th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block. The Haimara- 1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 207 feet (63 meters) of high-quality, gas-condensate bearing sandstone reservoir. The well was drilled to a depth of 18,289 feet (5,575 meters) in 4,590 feet (1,399 meters) of water.
- The Yellowtail discovery was announced in April 2019. Yellowtail is ExxonMobil’s 13th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block. The Yellowtail- 1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 292 feet (89 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 6,046 feet (1,843 meters) of water.
- The Jethro-1 discovery was announced in August 2019. Jethro is Tullow Oil’s 1st discovery in the Orinduik Block. The well encountered 55m of net oil pay and was drilled to a total depth of 4,400m metres in approximately 1,350 metres of water.
- The Joe-1 discovery was announced in September 2019. Joe is Tullow Oil’s 2nd discovery in the Orinduik Block. The well encountered 14 metres of net oil pay in high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs of Upper Tertiary age. It was drilled to a total depth of 2,175 metres in water depth of 780 metres.
- The Tripletail discovery was announced in September 2019. Tripletail is ExxonMobil’s 14th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block. The Tripletail- 1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 108 feet (33 meters) of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled in 6,572 feet (2,003 meters) of water.
- The Mako-1 discovery was announced in December 2019. Mako-1 is ExxonMobil’s 15th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block. Mako-1 encountered approximately 164 feet (50 meters) of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. Mako-1, drilled in 5,315 feet (1,620 meters) of water, is located approximately six miles (10 kilometers) southeast of the Liza field, which began producing oil in December 2019.
2020 oil discovery
- The Carapa-1 discovery was announced in January 2020. Carapa is Repsol’s 1st discovery in the Kanuku Block. The well encountered approximately four metres of net oil pay. It was drilled to a total depth of 3,290 metres in 68 metres of water.
