ExxonMobil drills first of two wildcat wells off Guyana

ExxonMobil Corp. reported the start of drilling of the Haimara-1 exploration well offshore Guyana—the first of two planned wells in January. The Stena Carron drillship is drilling the well, which is 19 miles east of the Pluma-1 discovery in the southeast Stabroek block.

The Noble Tom Madden drillship is expected to drill the second well, Tilapia-1, about 3 miles west of the Longtail-1 discovery. The Tilapia-1 well is in the growing Turbot area.

“We continue to prioritize high-potential prospects in close proximity to previous discoveries in order to establish opportunities for material and efficient development,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Co. “Like the Liza and Payara areas, the Turbot area is on its way to offering significant development options that will maximize value for Guyana and our partners,” he said.

ExxonMobil is progressing the Liza Phase 1 development, which has moved into its peak execution phase ahead of expected startup in early 2020 (OGJ Online, Dec. 28, 2018). Drilling of development wells in Liza field is continuing using the Noble Bob Douglas drillship, subsea equipment is being prepared for installation, and the topside facilities modules are being installed on the Liza Destiny floating production, storage, and offloading vessel in Singapore, ExxonMobil said.

Preparations are under way for the start of pipe-laying in Liza field in the spring. The Liza Destiny FPSO is expected to sail from Singapore to arrive offshore Guyana in this year’s third quarter.

The potential exists for at least five FPSOs on the Stabroek Block producing more than 750,000 b/d of oil by 2025. Liza Phase 2 is expected to start up by mid-2022. Pending government and regulatory approvals, project sanction is expected in the first quarter and will use a second FPSO designed to produce 220,000 bo/d. Sanctioning of a third development, Payara, also is expected this year with start up as early as 2023.

ExxonMobil also plans to deploy a seismic vessel operated by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) to the Turbot area to acquire 4D seismic data similar to a 4D campaign conducted in the Liza area in 2017. A second PGS vessel has been released after seismic acquisition work was suspended on Dec. 22 when vessels were approached by the Venezuelan navy in the northwest portion of the Stabroek block.

Drilling and development operations offshore Guyana are unaffected by the incident, which occurred more than 110 km from the Ranger discovery—the closest of 10 discoveries made by ExxonMobil in the southeast part of the Stabroek block.

ExxonMobil operates the Stabroek block under license from the government of Guyana. The acquisition of seismic data was being conducted under license from the government of Guyana in the country’s exclusive economic zone. ExxonMobil is evaluating next steps for the seismic program.

ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Ltd. is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Ltd. holds 25% interest.