Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas Limited, one of the joint venture partners on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, disclosed to the market on Monday in an Operational Update and Notice of AGM, that work is still progressing on target selection.
Eco said the partnership which includes Tullow, Total and Qatar Petroleum, has used state-of-the-art processing technology to merge its seismic data sets and to incorporate regional well results into target selections. Eco said, too, that the teams are using conservative and proven sciences, “to define sweet light oil drilling targets, likely within the proven Cretaceous section.” Eco was keen to note that the partnership hopes to establish firm targets in the near term and advance towards drilling.
The company also reminded that the JV Partners have already delivered two substantial oil discoveries on the Orinduik Block and have worked diligently to define the parameters and identifiers related to this heavy oil field discovery.
It also stressed that Orinduik continues to offer significant upside while noting that the eastern section of the Block is closer to the established Liza oil trend than any other Block.
As regards development in other offshore concessions, Eco said on Saturday October 30 it noted a detailed update from JHI Associates Inc. that ExxonMobil has successfully and safely drilled the Sapote-1 well on the Canje Block, to a depth of 6,759 meters (22,172 ft), in 2,549 meters (8,362 ft) of water. The well recorded hydrocarbon shows while drilling, and in the logging sequence, in a deeper interval than anticipated, but had no shows in the upper primary objective horizon. With sidewall coring and wireline logging complete, it noted that ExxonMobil will now work to define the reservoir properties, including porosity and permeability, and the cored samples will be analysed for hydrocarbons.
As previously announced in June of this year, Eco acquired a 6.4% interest in JHI Associates Inc., a private Canadian company, which holds a 17.5% working interest in the Guyana Canje Block. JHI, with a current very strong cash balance, has already paid for its 17.5% of the Sapote-1 well from treasury. No costs are attributable to Eco.
Eco noted that ExxonMobil will next drill in 2021 the Fangtooth-1 well just north and down dip of Orinduik on the Stabroek Block. Eco said this well is very close to Orinduik and will test some of the deeper sections. The oil company said too that the partnership is focused on the careful selection of locations able to drill a number of stacked or multiple target sections with the opportunity to yield several hundred million barrels.
Colin Kinley, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Eco Atlantic, commented that the company remains very focused on careful selection of the next target to drill on Orinduik. Kinley said, “The process has taken longer than we would have liked with prolongation through reprocessing and Covid-19 constraints. However, each additional well drilled in the Basin, both commercially developed or drilled and abandoned, adds to our understanding of the area. We, and our partners, remain committed to good practice in the well location selection. We are fully funded for our share of the next well and are pushing the Operator, towards a committed location, defined drilling date and rig contract.”
As for Gil Holzman, President and CEO of Eco Atlantic, he said, “We are very proud of our accomplishments in 2021. We have managed to grow and progress our assets portfolio in both Guyana and Namibia and, importantly, have also managed to maintain and strengthen the Company’s financial position through strict cost controls…”
He added, “We are very encouraged by the latest well results in Sapote-1. The results, once defined, should warrant additional exploration wells to test the deeper sections where the Sapote oil was present. We remain confident that our past investment in JHI will generate additional value for our shareholders over the longer term in the exciting Canje Block. As a shareholder in JHI and given their strong financial situation, we have no obligation to commit any capital towards future drilling plans at Canje.”
In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15% Working Interest alongside TOQAP Guyana B.V. a company jointly owned by TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (60%) and Qatar Petroleum (40%) and Operator Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin.
Jethro-1 was the first major oil discovery on Orinduik Block. The Jethro-1 encountered 180.5 feet (55 meters) of net heavy oil pay in excellent Lower Tertiary sandstone reservoirs. Joe-1 was the second discovery on the Orinduik Block and comprised of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir, with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age. The Joe-1 well encountered 52 feet (16 meters) of continuous thick sandstone.
