By Jarryl Bryan
Eco Atlantic, one of several companies drilling for oil offshore Guyana, has announced a gross figure of approximately 2.9 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalents in its Orinduik block, verified by the first ever independent assessment done on the field.
According to a Competent Persons Report (CBR) done by Gustavson Associates, the oil was found in 10 prospects within the block. It is believed to include 2.505 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 2.449 trillion cubic feet of associated gas.
Those are, however, gross estimates. According to the company, the total net figure is 1.165 billion barrels. The CBR adds that the risk, or probability of success when extracting the oil, is a 16.8 to 22.4 per cent range.
In a statement on the find, Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic Colin Kinley expressed pleasure at the findings and noted that the first well is expected to be drilled early in 2019. He described it as a major development for both the shareholders and the people of Guyana.
“Today’s CPR confirms the high prospectivity of our Orinduik Block. We are delighted by the identification of at least 10 exploration leads with close to three billion barrels of recoverable oil potential, confirmed by Gustavson. We are very pleased with the current interpretation work that has been completed at Tullow, Gustavson and within Eco and have a great deal of confidence in our joint efforts to date.”
“The additional discovery on Exxon’s Stabroek Block, including the most recent Hammerhead-1 that is on our 3D survey, enables us to see the formations ramp up onto Orinduik. These have greatly helped us to further understand the play. The partners will carefully consider in the coming months the prioritisation of the leads for drilling as we continue work on the drilling engineering and the environmental permitting.”
Kinley noted that three of the targets that were identified have estimated Probability of Success rates calculated at 22.4 per cent. The executive described these figures as “extremely good” for any company on a single lead, let alone three.
“As noted in the previous announcement, we continue to de-risk the play and are approaching this with a conservative and focused approach. As our partner Tullow announced, we are planning to drill our first well early Q3 2019 and we are in the process of permitting and engineering in parallel with continuing geophysical and geological assessments,” Kinley stated.
Gustavson Associates, for its part, is an international oil, gas, and mining consulting firm with a staff of professional geologists, engineers, economists, and appraisers. It is understood that a major reason for ordering CBR’s is to provide an independent technical report on oil and gas assets that investors can appraise. It is usually prepared in the context of the London Stock Exchange and other exchange markets in Europe.
The Orinduik oil block is just a few kilometres from Exxon’s discoveries in the Liza and Payara fields. It is under the administration of Eco Guyana and Tullow, who signed a 10-year Petroleum Prospecting licence and Production Sharing Agreement with Guyana in 2016.
French firm Total E&P Activities Petrolieres entered the fray last year; partnering with Eco with the option to get a 25 per cent share in the block. A 3D seismic survey on the block is being finalised. It is understood that Total has up to 120 days to acquire its working stake through payment of US$12.5 million, after getting the survey data.
