Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd, the exploration company with a license in the proven oil province of Guyana, specifically, the Oriduik Block, has continued to advance efforts in the selection of further drilling prospects.
This was disclosed today in an operational update by Eco and its partners, Tullow Guyana BV –(the Operator holding a 60% working interest) and the Total/Qatar, a joint venture (JV) holding a 25 percent working interest.
The partners said today that they are confident in the scheduled progression towards drilling target selection in the third quarter. Following this, a well is set to be drilled next year, subject to approval by the JV.
Colin Kinley, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic was keen to note that the JV’s geoscience team will continue to focus on the regionally proven light oil plays which are on trend with the Liza and Carapa discoveries in the Stabroek and Kanuku blocks respectively.
Kinley said, “We are seeing very material independent and stacked prospects and will define a ranking of these targets in the coming fall, which we are prepared and budgeted for, and (assuming JV approval) which will enable us to drill on the play in 2022.”
With the exception of Guyana, Kinley noted that exploration activity has been slow since before the pandemic, and with capital available for drilling shifting towards renewables, the issue has been further compounded. As the world economies begin to recover, he said that Eco now expects to see demand for new exploration increasing, to bridge the deficit between renewable capacity and growing energy demand.
Furthermore, the Co-Founder said the partners have taken note of the fact that the Guyana / Suriname Basin is set to mature from its current 10 billion-plus discovered barrels, and current 120,000 barrels of oil per day to potentially 10 floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) and over a million barrels of production per day, expected mid-way through this decade.
Kinley said this, supported by estimated breakeven prices of US$35, US$25, and US$32 per barrel recently reported by Hess Corporation in respect of discoveries on the nearby Stabroek block in the same region, proves extremely positive for the Orinduik partners and company stakeholders while adding that it has motivated the drive to additional drilling.
