A US-based oil exploration company is the latest entity to be brainstorming the prospects of a franchise operation in Guyana’s territory. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, an independent oil and gas company in the United States of America, is considered the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company.
Noel Dennison, head of the petroleum division of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), accompanied officials of Anadarko to a meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo at his State House residence on Thursday, September 8.
Vice President of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Ian Cooling, seen meeting President Bharrat Jagdeo in the presence of GGMC’s Petroleum Division head, Noel Dennison
Vice president of business development of Anadarko, Ian J Cooling, who led the delegation, later told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the company’s interest in Guyana stemmed from its research on the country’s offshore area. “We like areas like what we are seeing, (and) the sort of potential we think is here. It’s pretty much underexplored right now,” Cooling said in an invited comment.
Anadarko is presently conducting a geological assessment of the region; and given what has been observed thus far, Cooling said, it fits the environment in which the company has always shown interest.
“We look for frontier areas; we look for deep waters… we think the government of Guyana needs to bring some people in that are technically capable and financially capable to do some work. We’re hoping we’re going to be selected to do that,” Cooling said. While their optimism is high, company officials have acknowledged that they have a long way to go before achieving succes, beginning with years of preparatory work.
The Guyana offshore area is considered the second most attractive under-explored basin in the world, with a potential of 15.2 billion barrels of oil. And were a discovery to be made, the target would be estimated at 50 million barrels per year, which would be equivalent to 140,000 barrels per day.
Last November, Tullow Oil, a London-based company, had indicated to President Jagdeo its readiness by April this year to drill for oil in the Jaguar Well through a joint venture with REPSOL, a leading international oil exploration company out of Spain.
President Jagdeo is of the view that the discovery of oil would lead to an explosion of immediate and auxiliary services to the oil and gas industry, but he assured that Guyana’s path along a low carbon course would not be compromised. In April, Prime Energy LLC-Caribbean, a United States-based petroleum company, had proposed to construct the first ever oil refinery in Guyana, and officials had said it would create opportunities for employment for approximately 100 persons.
Company president Jerry Brooks had explained that the interest to establish a refinery in Guyana was stimulated by the fact that several countries around the world are looking to refineries that produce 20,000 barrels a day for their countries, given the high cost incurred to transport crude oil to the U.S. for refining.
