Guyana is elated by the news of the discovery of additional oil offshore the Stabroek Block find by US oil giant Exxon Mobil.On Thursday, ExxonMobil announced through its subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production, Guyana Limited that high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs were found at its Payara-1 well in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Thursday night said the APNU+AFC administration is “happy” about the announcement and noted that Guyana is not a “one hit wonder.”
“I believe we now can confirm that the basin is an active one that shows potential for more discoveries,” Trotman said. “Whether they would be very large or not is a matter that we need to wait to see but, I think we can now say that we’re heading into an oil and gas industry,” he added.
According to the Business Wire, the company announced that the drilling of the well “encountered more than 295 feet (90 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. It was safely drilled to 17,825 feet (5,433 meters) in 5,719 feet (1,743 meters) of water.”
Trotman pointed out that the find coupled with the Liza discovery, will change the world view on Guyana. “I believe Liza, its size, and the fact that it is cutting edge, going into ultra-deep waters, it is generating much interest so this is again going to lift Guyana’s image as a country that is no longer seen as poor but we’re moving from potential to prosperity,” Trotman told GINA.
Additionally, the minister is looking forward to the added investment that the find will attract to Guyana. “Before, if you had one well it didn’t take much to have one well developed. But, now that we have multiple wells, it will lead to multiple explorations and hopefully, producers of petroleum and natural gas in the future,” Trotman reasoned.
ExxonMobil moved its ‘Stena Carron’ drillship to the Payara location last November with initial total depth reached on December 2, 2016. The Payara find will soon be evaluated for development alongside the Liza discovery. Liza 3 has the same high-quality reservoirs as the other two Lizas.
Last year, ExxonMobil’s Liza-2 offshore exploration found high propensity sandstone reservoirs that could produce more than 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable high quality oil.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres located offshore Guyana and this is where the Lizas are located. (GINA)