An industry expert involved in Jamaica’s ongoing offshore exploration says there is mounting evidence suggesting the island could sit above an active petroleum system, as scientific surveys of its seabed continue.
A UK-based oil and gas exploration company currently surveying Jamaica’s seabed for potential petroleum resources says there is growing evidence suggesting the island could sit above an active offshore oil system.
United Oil & Gas Plc, which holds the Walton Morant offshore licence, has launched a new internal technical podcast outlining the geological case for oil exploration around Jamaica, as it continues a multi-week scientific survey of the seabed.
The podcast, On the Rocks, is intended to give shareholders and stakeholders a deeper look at the data guiding the company’s exploration programme. Its first episode features Business Technical Manager Paul Ryan and Head of Business Development Donal Meehan, who discuss what they describe as strong indicators of a working petroleum system offshore.
“There’s really just an awful lot of evidence there,” Meehan said in the debut episode. He pointed to what the company describes as a proven petroleum system onshore in Jamaica and a combination of offshore indicators including satellite data, seismic interpretation and rock analysis. “Everything’s pointed in the right direction that we do have an active petroleum system in the offshore as well as the onshore,” he added.
The podcast launch comes as United Oil & Gas recently deployed the research vessel R/V Gyre to Jamaican waters to begin a geochemical exploration survey on the Walton Morant licence. The vessel, operated by TDI Brooks International, departed Trinidad last month and is conducting seabed mapping, heat flow measurements and sediment sampling in deep waters more than 450 metres below sea level.
The survey is designed to determine whether oil-like substances previously detected beneath Jamaica’s waters could be commercially viable. According to the company, the work focuses on gathering scientific evidence rather than drilling.
Ryan said some of the data collected so far suggests hydrocarbons detected in the area are likely natural rather than man-made. “I think the signature is suggestive of a thermogenic origin, which means that it’s more than likely coming from a seep on the seabed that’s venting up,” he said, explaining that the geochemical signature differs from refined fuels such as diesel.
He added that upcoming seabed “piston coring” will aim to confirm what the company calls circumstantial evidence from satellite imagery and seismic anomalies by collecting physical samples from the ocean floor. The goal is to determine whether thermally derived hydrocarbons are present in the sediments.
Despite the growing optimism from the company’s technical team, Jamaican officials have urged caution about interpreting the current activity. Energy Minister Daryl Vaz previously stressed that the programme is strictly scientific and does not involve oil drilling or extraction.
United Oil & Gas Chief Executive Officer Brian Larkin also emphasised that the survey represents early-stage data collection. “We are not drilling a well. This is data collection, arguably the final piece of the jigsaw before you move towards potential exploration drilling,” Larkin said during a media tour of the research vessel at the Port Royal Cruise Terminal in January.
The offshore programme includes multi-beam seabed mapping followed by heat flow measurements and piston coring at roughly 41 selected sites. The company says the results will help determine whether an active petroleum system exists offshore Jamaica and whether further exploration, including drilling, could eventually be justified.
For now, the exploration remains in its evidence-gathering phase — but company officials say the indicators so far are pointing in a promising direction.
caribbeannationalweekly.com
