…after Tanager-1 turns up small amounts of heavy oil
The deepest well drilled in the Guyana-Suriname basin to date, the Tanager-1 well, drilled by ExxonMobil in Guyana’s Kaieteur Block has turned out to be a non-commercial discovery. The well, which reached a total depth of 7,633 metres in recent days, cost the Company millions of US dollars.
Evaluation of the find showed only 16 metres of net oil pay in high-quality sandstone reservoirs with heavier oil than that of the Liza Phase 1 producing field crude assay. It is anticipated that the well will now be plugged and abandoned in the coming days.
On Tuesday afternoon, confirming the reports, Public and Government Affairs Advisor at Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Janelle Persaud told reporters that the well “encountered hydrocarbons but based on initial analysis it does not appear to be economic on a standalone basis.”
The Stena Carron was involved in the drilling of Exxon’s first well in the block commencing in August 2020. The well is located 46 miles northwest of the fruitful Liza well.
“We will evaluate the data we have gained through additional tests and analysis and will continue exploration activities across our acreage offshore Guyana, including in the high-risk frontier areas such as the Kaieteur and Canje blocks,” Persaud said.
At the Kaieteur Block, ExxonMobil holds 35% of the rights and is the operator of the block; Ratio Guyana holds 25% of the petroleum rights in the Block; Cataleya holds 25% and Hess holds 15%. The Kaieteur Block covers an area of approximately 13,500 sq km at water depths ranging between 2,800 and 3,800 meters. The Kaieteur and Canje blocks are adjacent to the Stabroek Block which has delivered eighteen substantial oil discoveries since 2015.
Also commenting on the disappointing find were representatives of Westmount Energy, a company which holds a minor stake in Ratio and a 5.4% stake in Cataleya Energy’s parent. Executive Chairman of Westmount, Gerard Walsh said: “The outcome of the Tanager-1 exploration well has proved to be a mixed bag – confirming the extension of the Liza play fairway onto the Kaieteur Block but apparently coming up short at the deeper stratigraphic levels.”
He said that exploration of these deeper plays, offshore Guyana, is at an early part of the learning curve. He said that investors and shareholders now look forward to the near-term drilling of the next prospects in the portfolio which are independent of the outcome of the Tanager-1 well. It includes the Bulletwood-1 well, on the Canje Block, which should be spudded in late December 2020 or early 2021
