Latest update March 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 21, 2021 News
…starts new exploration drilling in Stabroek Block
Kaieteur News – US Oil major ExxonMobil—the Operator of the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana under the auspices of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—has announced the commencement of another exploration well at the Cataback-1 site—even as the company has committed to relocating its supplies base from neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to Guyana by next year.
The announcement with regards to the spudding of the latest well by ExxonMobil Guyana/EEPGL as part of its five-year, 25-well campaign in the Stabroek Block, was announced by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).
MARAD, in its announcement cautioning mariners to stay clear of the company’s drilling and support vessels, indicated that the Well site is located some 104.8 nautical miles or 194.2 kilometres from the Guyana coast and covers an area of 0.29 square miles or one square kilometre.
The well is being drilled using the Noble Tom Madden and will be supported by 24 of the supply vessels currently in ExxonMobil’s fleet.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the relocation of its supply chain base to Guyana, ExxonMobil Country President, Alistair Routledge, gave the commitment over the weekend when it was announced that the oil major had highly technical fabrication work for the oil and gas industry undertaken for the first time in the country.
To this end, Routeledge remarked, “Now that we have that line of sight to more development, we can continue this investment journey and move more and more of that work, the facilities, the capabilities, to Guyana. Sometime in 2022, virtually all of that supply chain, all of that work, will have been moved to Guyana from Trinidad, and that’ll be a major milestone for Guyana, for local content, for the people of Guyana.”
This publication reported over the weekend that Guyana Oil and Gas Support Services Inc – a joint venture between the Guyanese company, National Hardware and the Trinidadian company, Concepts and Services – in a Facebook release announced that two fabricated subsea jumpers were lifted onto a support vessel, the Bourbon Sapphire, which will transport them to the Liza field development offshore.
The company revealed that, “Once offshore, they will be laid on the seabed as vital components of the subsea network.” The subsea jumpers are used as connectors to transport production fluid between subsea components in oil and gas production systems.
ExxonMobil in response said, the fact that the fabrication of these jumpers was done in Guyana is a huge milestone for the country, and an indication of the growth of capacity that Guyanese will continue to experience with the growth of the oil and gas industry.
The three-year-old joint venture is the first startup in Guyana to have American Welding Society (AWS) certified welders.
ExxonMobil said that it and its prime contractor, Saipem, have been working to support the development of capabilities in-country.
It said it is making significant investment in facilities and infrastructure, and on-the-job training in safety and upskilling for Guyanese in several fields, including welding.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the new well—Cataback-1—this is included in the ambitious 52-well drilling campaign over the course of five years scheduled by the oil major.
According to the schedule of exploration activities for the company for the Stabroek Block, the company is currently engaged in an aggressive 25-well exploration campaign that started back in June of this year.
That drilling campaign is expected to last until the end of 2025.
This is in addition to a separate 12-well campaign that had started back in December 2020 in the Stabroek Block and ended earlier this year.
Furthermore, the company is currently engaged in a three-well campaign in the Canje Block that is expected to conclude this month.
Additionally, EEPGL is currently awaiting permission for another 12 well campaign in the Canje Block.
That five-year campaign is also expected to be concluded in February 2025.
It would mean that between December 2020 and December 2025, the company would have spud or plans to spud some 52 wells.
This is in addition to the drilling of the development wells in the Liza I & II fields.
EEPGL currently has six drill ships operating offshore the Stena Carron, the Stena DrillMAX, the Noble Bob Douglas, the Noble Tom Madden, the Noble Don Taylor and the Noble Sam Croft.
The cost for and oversight of the exploration wells by oil companies have been a bone of public contention for years given the fact, that the expenditure is recovered from cost oil in any of the producing fields in the contract area.
Listen to the man that is throwing Guyanese bright future away
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