US supermajor ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has made two fresh oil discoveries off the coast of Guyana.
Fangtooth and Lau Lau were both uncovered in the Stabroek block, adding to the previous recoverable resource estimate of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The positive results support ExxonMobil’s strategy to test “deeper exploration targets” in the area, with more than 3,200 Guyanese now support ongoing exploration and production activities.
The Fangtooth-1 well encountered around 50 metres of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs.
It is located about 11 miles north-west of the Liza field, first discovered in 2015, and was drilled in 1,838 meters of water.
Meanwhile the Lau Lau-1 well came across about 96 metres of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs and was drilled in 1,461 meters of water more than 40 miles south-east of the Liza field.
Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil, said: “Initial results from the Fangtooth and Lau Lau wells are a positive sign for Guyana and continue to demonstrate the potential for the country’s growing oil and gas sector, ExxonMobil and our co-venturers in the Stabroek block.
“The Fangtooth discovery is a successful result of our strategy to test deeper prospectivity, and the Lau Lau discovery adds to the large inventory of development opportunities in the southeast part of the Stabroek block.
“Both discoveries increase our understanding of the resource, our continued confidence in the block’s exploration potential, and our view that the many discoveries to date could result in up to 10 development projects.”
Fangtooth was drilled by the Stena DrillMAX, while the Noble Don Taylor was use to spud Lau Lau.
The vessels are part of a fleet of six drillships supporting exploration and development drilling across three blocks operated by ExxonMobil offshore Guyana.
Other developments
The Texas-headquartered company also confirmed that progress is being made on infrastructure for future field development.
Work to hook up the Liza Unity floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is ongoing after the vessel arrived in Guyanese waters in October.
Meanwhile the Unity is on track to start production in the first quarter of 2022 and has a target of 220,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production.
© ExxonMobilThe hull for the Prosperity FPSO vessel, the third project on the Stabroek block at the Payara field, is complete and topside construction activities are ongoing in Singapore for planned production start-up in 2024, ExxonMobil said.
The field development plan and environmental impact assessment for the fourth potential project, Yellowtail, has also submitted for government and regulatory review.
Stabroek block
The Stabroek block covers an area of 6.6 million acres.
ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana is operator and holds 45% interest.
Hess Guyana Exploration has a 30% stake, while CNOOC Petroleum Guyana holds the remaining 25%.