United Oil keeping Jamaica’s petro dreams alive
Jamaica, it seems, almost certainly not unmindful of the transformative effect which Guyana’s giant oil find continues to have on the socio-economic face of the country, is far from ready to give up on its own protracted petro aspirations. Towards the end of January, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that United Oil had secured a two-year extension of the company’s long-standing tilt at striking ‘black gold’ at the country’s Jamaica Offshore Asset, Walton Morant, described in the Gleaner as “an offshore exploration block measuring 8,649 square miles (22,440 square kilometers) and located south of Jamaica.”
A United report asserts that the asset holds 2.4 billion barrels of what another report describes as “unrisked mean prospective resource potential” which, it says, includes “the initial drill ready Colibri prospect of 406 million barrels of “un-risked mean prospective resources.” Jamaica’s Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport reportedly plans to undertake additional technical studies “better defining the prospects and leads identified on the license.” In the wake of the extension of the license by the Jamaican authorities, United is quoted as saying that it can now “build confidently on the ‘farmout’ process carried out to date and re-engage with the recent positive interest that has been shown by other parties in participating in this high impact exploration opportunity, in a region with immense potential”.
The company is being quoted as saying that this “twoyear license extension in Jamaica is a significant next step in our strategy alongside our onshore operations in the UK.” The company’s CEO, Brian Larkin reportedly describes the Walton-Morant License as a “vast exploration area of 22,400 [square kilometers]” in which it holds 100 percent working interest and which contains more than 2.4 billion barrels of “un-risked mean prospective resources…” Larkin is quoted as saying that “the Government of Jamaica remains supportive of hydrocarbon exploration” and achieving the potential of this license, which he is quoted in The Gleaner as saying, “could be transformational for the nation delivering long-term energy security, generating significant revenue and creating economic opportunities for the nation in line with Jamaica’s National Energy Policy.”