More than a billion barrels discovered at Stabroek Block in 2022

Westwood Global Energy Group estimates that all nine discoveries made by ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block last year were high impact, each amounting to more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The firm also determined that the Barreleye, Patwa, Kiru Kiru, Lau Lau and Sailfin discoveries contain more gas than oil, while Lukanani and Seabob have essentially equal amounts of oil and gas.

Fangtooth and Yarrow have markedly higher oil to gas ratios, approximately 3:1. Chief Executive Officer of Hess Corporation, John Hess, said that the co-venturers are looking at Fangtooth as the seventh development at the Stabroek Block. There is so much oil at Fangtooth that it can sustain its own floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Almost certainly, the petroleum resources discovered at Stabroek in 2022 are in excess of a billion oil-equivalent barrels.

Stabroek Block co-venturers – CNOOC, Exxon and Hess – were determined to be the most-high impact explorers of 2022, Westwood said.

The Westwood analysis found that the discoveries made in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, including the Krabdagu discovery by TotalEnergies at Block 58 offshore Suriname, accounted for ~21% or 1.93 billion of the 9.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered in 2022 worldwide. 

Westwood said the proportion of global wells that may result in a potentially commercial development increased from 29% in 2021 to 36%.

Looking to 2023, the firm said 75-85 high impact wells are expected to be completed. It said South America will continue to be a key region for high impact exploration, particularly in the Suriname-Guyana Basin and offshore Brazil.