Based on the data it has collected thus far, ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/NEXEN have only begun to scratch the surface of the massive oil potential that the Stabroek Block holds. Already, the company has found over eight billion oil equivalent resources from 2015 to now. And according to Hess Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess, there are multi-billion barrels remaining that are beyond the eight billion gross that it has discovered thus far.
The official made these and other key disclosures during the J.P. Morgan 2020 Energy, Power and Renewables Conference that was held on Tuesday. During the call, Hess said that the Stabroek Block partners are still in the early innings of its exploration programme. Be that as it may, he said that Hess and its partners are very excited about the upside potential.
The CEO was keen to note that most of the discovered resources have been in the Campanian, a geological layer that lies 15,000 feet in the block. Hess said that it is very prolific while noting that last year, ExxonMobil penetrated a layer 3000 feet deeper called the Santonian. “And that is a fairly massive sand section…We just see more opportunities in both layers,” the CEO stated.
With respect to current operations, Hess said that ExxonMobil is back to running four, three of which are dedicated to development works while the other is scheduled for exploration works. “We are giving serious thought to bringing a fifth drill ship to work on exploration,” the Hess CEO disclosed. In the next 18 months, Hess said that industry stakeholders can certainly look forward to ExxonMobil going after deep targets, particularly in the Campanian region.
GEOLOGICAL TIP
The Campanian refers to rocks that formed during a time called the Cretaceous epoch (the period which saw the extinction of dinosaurs over 100 million years ago). On the geological timescale, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous series. Campanian spans the time from 83.6 to 72.1 million years ago. It is preceded by the Santonian and it is followed by the Maastrichtian.
