– to commence year-end
REPSOL, the internationally renowned oil exploration company has been given the green light by President Bharrat Jagdeo for an extension to its deadline for drilling of the Jaguar Well in the Guyana offshore area. The extension was granted after Director of Exploration in Latin America Joseba Murillas, led a delegation of officials in the REPSOL joint venture exploration project to a meeting with the Head of State.
Head of the petroleum division in the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Newell Dennison and the Chief Executive Officer of CGX Energy Inc. Kerry Sully accompanied the team of officials at yesterday’s meeting held at the Office of the President.
Tullow Oil, a London-based Company, YPF and CGX of Canada are the main partners in the Jaguar well joint venture drilling project, holding equity interests of 30 and 25 percent respectively.
REPSOL officials have based their extension request on the grounds that the rig is at present drilling for another operator in Suriname after which it will move to the Jaguar well in the Guyana offshore area.  
Murillas envisages that by year-end, work on the Jaguar well will commence.
Murillas told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the company is in full gear to drill as personnel and equipment are already in Guyana and 95 percent of the contracts are in place.
The company has already invested US$40M and committed more than $100M for the project which is estimated to cost in excess of $150M, Murillas said.
“We are very optimistic of our chances. It’s a frontier basin so anything could happen,” Murillas said, pointing to the encouraging news of a recent discovery made in the French Guiana basin.
On September 9, the Shell- Tullow oil joint venture confirmed an oil discovery in the Guyana Maritime permit approximately 150-kilomters offshore French Guiana.
Guyana is the second most attractive under-explored basin in the world with a potential of 15.2 billion barrels of oil and were a discovery to be made, production targets would be estimated at 50 million barrels per year.
Additionally Government would be receiving a cash flow of 53 percent, and the oil company 43 percent. It was also predicted that the impact on Guyana’s development would be phenomenal and many would gain employment.
With a thriving oil and gas industry, an explosion of auxiliary services including in the tourism and hospitality sector are envisaged and with Region Six being the area closest to the drilling point, an expanded East Canje reservoir scheme with a deep water harbour will be
among several development plans earmarked.
President Jagdeo said Guyana will be seeking as much advice as possible particularly in the area of development and monitoring of the oil and gas industry.