Repsol signs new deal with Guyana

By Leana Bradshaw –

Spanish oil exploration giant, Repsol on Tuesday signed another agreement with the Guyana government to commence drilling for oil and gas, in the Kanuku Basin offshore Guyana. Affixing his signature to the agreement which was previously signed by President Donald Romotar (who is the minister responsible for petroleum), was Repsol’s Latin America Exploration Director Joseba Murillas.

The signing ceremony took place at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, Brickdam, Georgetown.
Murillas said Repsol is pleased to be working along with Tullow Oil, as a partner in the basin to access the much anticipated oil commodity.
Repsol has been present in the basin for many years and with an office already set up in Guyana, it is expected to initiate exploration activities following the finalisation of the agreement.
“Hopefully by the end of this year, we will have completed the acquisition of the seismic, during 2014, our plans are to process all this volumes and contact, all the interpretation tasks with the objective of finding a well location in 2015,” he stated.
The company’s hope is that following preparations, it will be able to begin actual drilling for oil by 2016. The exploration director expressed his company’s willingness to work with government in search for oil on territorial waters and is hopeful for positive results.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud said government is pleased to have Repsol back on board, after a number of in-depth negotiations prior to the agreement.
He believes this undertaking will allow Guyana to fulfil expectations of being an oil and gas producer.
Persaud said “having the two companies with good international reputation operating within our offshore in pursuit of oil exploration, eventually we hope very soon a significant commercial discovery certainly would be a plus for us”.
Repsol will engage in petroleum exploration in Guyana’s concession acreage referred to as the Kanuku Block.
The Spanish oil giant was responsible for the drilling of the Jaguar One Well in partnership with CGX, which is located just offshore of the Georgetown Block.
The operation, which was expected to be the largest, came up empty-handed back in 2012 since the team was forced to stop drilling after being warned it could become dangerous if they continued. Discussions between Repsol and the Natural Resources Ministry through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission commenced in mid- 2012, in anticipation of the expiration of the Petroleum Prospecting Licence, which was for the Georgetown Block.
The new Petroleum Prospecting Licence and its Production Sharing Agreement are in respect of an area of approximately 6525 square kilometres within the sedimentary basin offshore Guyana, and some 100 miles seawards of the mouth of the Berbice River.