…announces plans for third drill ship
…eyes additional development southeast of the Stabroek Block

U.S oil giant ExxonMobil Corporation made its eighth discovery offshore Guyana at the Longtail-1 well, much to the satisfaction of the Government and people of Guyana.
In making the announcement on Wednesday, ExxonMobil disclosed that plans are in the pipeline to bring a third drillship to operate in Guyana’s waters – a move that has received the agreement of the Guyanese Government.

In a statement on Wednesday, ExxonMobil said it encountered approximately 256 feet (78 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir at the Longtail-1 well. “The well was safely drilled to 18,057 feet (5,504 meters) depth in 6,365 feet (1,940 meters) of water. The Stena Carron drillship commenced drilling on May 25, 2018,” the U.S oil company explained, while noting that the discovery is within close proximity to the Turbot discovery southeast of the Liza field.

It is believed that this new discovery creates the potential for additional resource development in the southeast area of the Stabroek Block. President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company Steve Greenlee, however, noted that drilling results from Longtail are under evaluation.

“However, the combined estimated recoverable resources of Turbot and Longtail will exceed 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, and will contribute to the evaluation of development options in this eastern portion of the block,” Greenlee explained.
The discovery will add to the 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels which have already been discovered in seven previous reservoirs: Liza, Payara, Liza Deep, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger and Pacora. It was only in February 2018 that the 7th discovery was made in the Pacora-1 well, offshore Guyana. The Pacora-1 well is located about four miles from the Payara-1 well in the Stabroek Block.

In early January, the U.S. oil company had also discovered oil offshore Guyana at its Ranger -1 well, adding to its previous discoveries since 2015. The Ranger -1 well encountered approximately 230 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing reservoir, located some 60 miles northwest of its Liza phase one project within the Stabroek Block.

Presently, ExxonMobil is currently making plans to add a second exploration vessel offshore Guyana in addition to the Stena Carron drillship, bringing its total number of drillships on the Stabroek Block to three. The new vessel will operate in parallel to the Stena Carron to explore the block’s numerous high-value prospects.

Meanwhile, shortly after the announcement was made, the Government, in a statement, congratulated ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Guyana and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum, on the new discovery. Attributing to the recent developments including the move to bring a third drillship into Guyana’s waters, the Government said these are clear indications and demonstration of ExxonMobil’s confidence in Guyana’s vast offshore reserves.

“This 8th discovery at Longtail-1 is yet another verification and validation of Guyana’s massive offshore oil reserves. All Guyanese will be brimming with further excitement of this historic news which reinforces that in the near future Guyana’s share of profit oil will allow for national infrastructural, economic and social transformation hitherto unimaginable,” Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said.

The Natural Resources Minister said the people of Guyana can be assured that under the Coalition Government the country would remain in stable, responsible and judicious hands that would ensure the effective and sustainable management of the resources.
“There are those who have expressed the desire for Guyana to begin embarking on an irresponsible spending and borrowing spree but we urge all Guyanese not to be baited by these pie-in-the-sky enticements and to understand that a sensible approach is what is required and advisable as we stride confidently towards first oil in May, 2020,” Minister Trotman said.

It is believed that the sound policies of the David Granger Administration are being vindicated despite some naysaying, uninformed pseudo-analysis and public posturing.
ExxonMobil said presently the Noble Bob Douglas is in the process of completing initial stages of development drilling for Liza Phase 1. It was explained that Phase 1 will consist of 17 wells connected to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. First oil is expected in early 2020. Phase 2 concepts are similar to Phase 1 and involve a second FPSO with production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. A third development, Payara, is planned to follow Liza Phase 2.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is an operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.