WEEKS after its partner, Tullow Guyana, discovered oil at Jethro-One well in the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. has commenced drilling of the Joe prospect in the same location.

The oil and gas company made the announcement on Tuesday, explaining that Joe-One was spud at 14:45hrs on August 25, 2019 using the Stena Forth drillship, which previously drilled the successful Jethro well. Eco and its partners on the Orinduik Block, Tullow Guyana B.V. – operator of 60 per cent of the Working Interest (“WI”), and Total E&P Guyana B.V. (25 per cent WI), estimate the well will take approximately three weeks to drill.

The Joe prospect is a Tertiary feature on the northern part of the Orinduik Block in approximately 700 metres of water and is estimated by Gustavson Associates to hold 148.3mmboe of gross unrisked prospective oil resources (P50), the company explained.
Joe is the second of Eco’s two-well drill programme in Guyana for this year and the company is fully funded for a further six potential explorations, appraisal or development wells on the Orinduik Block.

Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, Colin Kinley, is satisfied with this most recent development. “We are very pleased to have spudded on Sunday our second exploration well on Orinduik. After the discovery made on Jethro in the Lower Tertiary, which greatly de-risked that age section throughout the block, we are now moving to an upper tertiary target in the Joe prospect where we are targeting over 100mmboe. If a further discovery is made, it will further enhance the value of the block with this shallower play,” Kilney said.

He noted that he estimated the chance of success for Joe is the same as Jethro, although it is a completely different play. “We are confident in our 3D interpretation as we were ahead of the Jethro-One discovery. We look forward to continued success in our exploration efforts as we move forward to define the plays available to us in all the various geological ages and to develop this block,” Kilney further added.

Earlier this month, Tullow Guyana – a subsidiary of UK-based oil company Tullow Oil plc, encountered well over 100 million barrels of recoverable at Jethro-One well in the Orinduik Block, and Eco from all indication is projecting an even greater success.

Eco Atlantic has interests in Guyana and Namibia where significant oil discoveries have been made. In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15 per cent working interest alongside Total and Tullow Oil in the 1,800km2 Orinduik Block in shallow to deep water.

Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, has said that the discovery in the Orinduik Block adds to the further de-risking of the deep and ultra-deep zone, noting that it offers significant potential for the diversification of Guyana’s hydrocarbon production base.
“The Department of Energy (DoE) is encouraged by the prolific rate of discovery in the CRG and will continue to work assiduously and conscientiously to extract optimum value from these resources for all the peoples of our country,” Dr. Bynoe had assured the nation.
Dr. Bynoe said the new discovery demonstrates the vastness of the country’s natural resources, and assured that all Guyanese stand to benefit significantly from the oil discoveries.

According to a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed between the Government of Guyana, Tullow Guyana B.V and Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc., the country could benefit from as much as 60 per cent in oil profit, including a one per cent royalty once the explorations are successful and the companies start pumping for oil in the Orinduik Block.

The Orinduik Block is adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block, on which thirteen discoveries have been announced and over six billion barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources are estimated. First oil production is expected from the deep-water Liza Field in 2020.