Westmount Energy believes that the Tanager-1 discovery at the Kaieteur Block has potential to be a tie back for a development at Ranger, discovered in 2018 on the Stabroek Block.
ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge had told OilNOW on Feb. 13 that the company is looking for additional finds that could see Stabroek’s Ranger being potentially developed at some point.
The 2020 Tanager-1 discovery straddles the Stabroek/Kaieteur block boundary. This and similarly positioned prospects in the southern part of the Kaieteur Block could serve as tiebacks for Ranger.
ExxonMobil operates both blocks offshore Guyana.
Tanager-1 is the first and only well to be drilled on the Kaieteur block. It reached a total depth of 7,633 metres. Evaluation of LWD, wireline logging and sampling data had confirmed 16 metres of net oil pay in high-quality sandstone reservoirs of Maastrichtian age. Preliminary evaluation of the fluid samples from the Maastrichtian reservoir indicated heavier oil than is reported from the Liza Phase I producing field crude assays. Like Ranger, it was deemed to be non-commercial as a standalone development, and the well was plugged and abandoned.
Exxon has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a permit to drill 12 additional wells at the Kaieteur Block. Kaieteur Block partner, Cataleya Energy told OilNOW last Wednesday that the Tanager result is being used to update geologic and seismic data and that an immense amount of work is being done to identify the next prospect to drill.
The government has also added a unitisation clause to its model petroleum agreements, which will apply to the Kaieteur Block when finalised. The clause allows for development of reservoirs that straddle multiple contract areas.
ExxonMobil has a 35% operating stake in Kaieteur, with Cataleya (20%), Ratio (25%) and Hess (20%) as partners. It also has a 45% operating stake in the prolific Stabroek Block, with Hess (30%) and CNOOC (25%) as partners.
Westmount retains a holding of approximately 5.3% of the issued share capital of Cataleya Energy Corporation, the parent company of CEL and circa 0.04% of the issued share capital of Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership, the ultimate holding entity of the entity called Ratio, which has a direct stake in the Kaieteur Block.
