ExxonMobil begins drilling Kaieteur Block
Even as it pursues development and exploratory activities in the Stabroek Block, American oil giant, ExxonMobil, is wasting no time in trying to understand just how much oil and gas resources it has in the Kaieteur Block. In fact, an advertisement by the Maritime Administration disclosed that the Stena Carron drillship has arrived at the Kaieteur Block with drilling activities expected to conclude in October. This newspaper would have reported that the Tanager-1 well is being drilled first and is estimated to hold 256.2 million barrels of prospective resource according to Competent Persons Report (CPR) conducted by the Netherland, Sewell and Associates Inc. (‘NSAI’). The report also noted that the co-venturers have a 72 percent chance of success.
During his company’s second quarter earnings call this year, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hess Corporation, John Hess, said that he is encouraged by the geology of the block. He highlighted that the majority of the discoveries in the Stabroek Block, which borders the Kaieteur Block, are found in the Campanian and Santonian layers.
They are 15,000 feet and 18,000 feet deep, respectively. Hess said that the partners see a lot of the oilrich sand channels flowing from the Stabroek into the Kaieteur. “So it is highly prospective but you have to drill to see what you have,” the CEO noted. Further to this, the CEO said he is confident about the possibilities for success given the technology that is available to the operator for deep water drilling.
While ExxonMobil holds a 35 percent working interest in the block, Ratio Petroleum and Cataleya Energy Corporation (CEC) each holds a 25% participating interest, with Hess holding the remaining 15% – Westmount Energy, a UK based firm has a 0.7% interest in Ratio Petroleum and a 5.4% interest in CEC.
The Kaieteur Block is located approximately 155 miles (250 kilometers) offshore and covers 3.3 million acres (13,535 square kilometers).Three-D seismic survey was completed in 2017 on this block. Results showed that it holds a gross estimated prospective resource of 2.1 billion barrels for nine prospects.
(Kaieteur News)