CGX Energy Inc, the Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company with focus in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, has announced that it has entered into a tripartite agreement for drill rig sharing.
The other partners are Teikoku Oil (Suriname) Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of INPEX Corporation and Petronas, Suriname E&PBV.Oil rigs are the staging areas for underwater oil drilling operations, housing the crew, machinery and necessary equipment.
A knowledgeable observer has explained that, for a company like CGX, hiring an oil rig can be a very expensive exercise and, most times, rigs are not even readily available, since there is, generally, a high demand worldwide for such equipment.
Rig sharing, the source said, is a “cooperative” approach being adopted by petroleum companies to reduce the costs of exploring by eliminating the need to mobilise a rig multiple times for individual company needs.
“A rig sharing agreement is an effective way of alleviating the problems of its availability and price constraints,” he said.
He added that the rig sharing deal is a very positive development which underlines the seriousness of CGX about increasing exploration and sustaining development well into the future.
Ranks high
INPEX is the largest Japanese oil and gas exploring and producing company and ranks high amongst the mid-tier internationals.
It is currently involved in more than 70 such ventures across 28 countries.
PETRONAS is based in Malaysia and is ranked among the largest companies in the world with a proven track record in integrated oil and gas operations.
INPEX and PETRONAS, like CGX, have exploring interests in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.
Through a memorandum of understanding (MOU), CGX, INPEX and PETRONAS will enter into a definitive arrangement, with a view to minimising their exploration costs by sharing, where practical, rig procurement and related support services for their respective drilling programmes.
CGX plans to utilise the agreement for the drilling of its commitment well under the company’s Corentyne, Berbice petroleum prospecting licence.
Chief Executive Officer of CGX, Mr. Dewi Jones commented:”We are pleased to have signed this MOU with INPEX Corporation and PETRONAS and look forward to finalising the agreement.
“In conjunction with this agreement, we are working diligently to secure the resources required to execute our exploration programme in Guyana.”
CGX officials announced that it has also entered into a master data processing agreement with Vector Seismic Data Processing Inc. for the reprocessing and merging of seismic surveys relating to the Corentyne petroleum prospecting licence.
The reprocessing, necessary for drilling operations, is expected to be completed by April.