New discovery pushes oil reserves over 5B barrels Suppliers

Local companies are meeting with ExxonMobil and its contractors to talk jobs and opportunities as the countdown continues for first oil in early 2020.

Scores gathered at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, as news was announced that a 10th discovery has been made about 200 kilometers offshore, pushing recoverable reserves beyond five billion barrels of oil. This could push production up to 750,000 barrels per day come 2025, authorities said Monday. While the forum was in the first session, a statement from Government quoted Director, Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, as saying that the United States oil giant, ExxonMobil, has made its 10th discovery offshore Guyana, at the Pluma-1 well. This is great news for Guyana.

The country is on the cusp of transformational development for current and future generations and the news of ExxonMobil’s 10th discovery offshore Guyana is expected to facilitate the country’s realization of substantial social and economic improvements,” said an upbeat Dr. Bynoe. The Pluma-1, which is located some 17 miles south of the Turbot-1 well and follows previous discoveries on the Stabroek Block, encountered approximately 121 feet of high-quality, hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone. The well was safely drilled to 16,447 feet depth in 3,340 feet of water. The Noble Tom Madden drillship began drilling on November 1, 2018. “Guyana is well poised to truly forge ahead in the 21st century. As a petro-development state we will, however, need to strategically invest in a people-centered and balanced manner, where we utilise our non-renewable resources for structural transformation and improving people’s lives in the short-term, while concomitantly providing the foundation to allow us to transition in the medium- and long-term to a post carbon economy,” Bynoe noted. The previous recoverable resource estimate on the Stabroek Block was more than four billion barrels.

The government statement said that this discovery reinforces the potential of the country being able to produce more than 750,000 barrels of oil daily by 2025 and to the potential for development in the south-east section of the Stabroek Block.

(Kaieteur News)