ExxonMobil Guyana’s Public and Governance Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, confirmed with Guyana Standard that the Stena DrillMAX which is capable of drilling in water depths up to 10,000ft has arrived in the Stabroek Block.
This drillship is expected to target the Longtail-3 appraisal well, which will provide additional data in the Turbot/Longtail area and will drill a deeper section that will target lower Campanian and Santonian geologic intervals.
The Turbo area is located in the South East corner of the Stabroek block, an area 6.6 million acres (26,800 sq.km), just south of the Longtail discovery and south east of Liza, where the majority of ExxonMobil discoveries have been made. The discovery well, known as Yellowtail-1, is located towards the Northern tip of the Turbot area, approximately 6 miles northwest of the more recent Tilapia discovery.
The Turbot-1 well which was discovered on October 5th, 2017 led to the creation of the Turbot area. The Turbot-1 well encountered 75 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone. Yellowtail-1, by comparison, encountered 292 feet of similar reservoir, a remarkable discovery, one that continues to add to the estimates of recoverable resource.
Greg Hill, Chief Operating Officer of Hess Corporation, had disclosed during his company’s latest earnings call that another drillship is expected in April. The Noble Sam Croft would bring the total drillships operating in the block to six. Hill was keen to note that the Stabroek Block consortium which includes CNOOC/NEXEN, plans to drill 12 to 15 exploration and appraisal wells in 2021 that will target a variety of prospects and play types.
Currently, the Stabroek Block is producing about 120,000 barrels of oil per day of light sweet Liza crude, which is loaded onto Suezmax tankers at the Liza Destiny.
