In keeping with its plans to explore Guyana’s rich offshore resources, a multinational oil and gas exploration company, Tullow Oil, has begun its search for oil in the Orinduik Block.
This operation will incorporate the use of the Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) Pacific Leader, which will display international signals for other nearby vessels to be alerted, the Maritime Administration Department said in a notice published in the daily newspapers.
This drilling exercise will run until December 31 of this year.
The oil company is expected to drill about 82 nautical miles from the coast of Guyana and cover an area of 848 square kilometres.
The Maritime Department has asked that all mariners exercise caution when in this zone and moreover, maintain a good distance from it.
In another notice, the Department explained that the company also commenced drilling in the Jethro-1 well site within the Orinduik Block. For this operation, the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Stena Forth will be used and will also be displaying international signals.
Its drill site is about 95 nautical miles from Guyana’s coast and will cover an area of one square kilometre, bounded by other coordinates.
The oil company first inked its interest into Guyana during the second quarter of 2013.
Tullow had in February announced that it was bringing forward its drilling programme from the previously scheduled end of the year to the second quarter. It had announced that the Jethro prospect would be drilled in June.
So far, plans have been announced to drill three wells namely the Jethro-Lobe, Joe and Carapa.
Its Carapa prospect in Kanuku is expected to be drilled in the third quarter. It is understood that the net cost of the Jethro well is US$30 million, while the Carapa well will cost US$20 million.
Tullow’s partner in the Orinduik Block, Eco Atlantic, had announced that drilling on the Joe prospect will begin in mid-July of this year.
They had announced that the Stena Forth drillship will move directly to the Joe after it finishes drilling the Jethro Lobe Well in the Orinduik Block.
It is understood that the Joe is located in approximately 650 metres of water and will cost Eco approximately US$3 million to drill.
A recently published report from international company Gustavson Associates has estimated that the well has a 43.2 per cent chance of success.
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. The French firm, Total E and P Activities Petrolieres entered the fray in 2017, partnering with Eco with the option to get a 25 per cent share in the Block.
With major plans afoot for possible oil discoveries, Tullow’s Head of Communications, George Cazenove, has promised that jobs will be provided for the Guyanese populace.
In a recent interview, Cazenove told Guyana Times International, “Shared prosperity includes a firm commitment to local content… Tullow has made significant efforts in both East and West Africa to make sure that local companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are involved in the supply chain in the oil and gas developments we are involved with”.
