The US oil company ExxonMobil announced that they have made two new discoveries of crude oil off the coast of Guyana, adding to the country’s recoverable resources estimated at some 10 billion barrels.
The findings were made at the Fangtooth-1 and Lau Lau-1 wells on the Stabroek block, where the strategy of testing deeper exploration targets is being pursued, according to the company statement.
Fangtooth-1, drilled in 6,030 feet (1,838 meters) of water and located about 11 miles (18 kilometers) northwest of the Liza field, found approximately 164 feet (50 meters) of sandstone reservoirs containing high-quality oil.
For its part, Lau Lau-1, drilled in 4,793 feet (1,461 meters) of water and located 42 miles (68 kilometers) southeast of the Liza field, found approximately 315 feet (96 meters) of sandstone reservoirs with hydrocarbons.
“Initial results from the Fangtooth and Lau Lau wells are a positive sign for Guyana and continue to demonstrate the potential of the country’s growing oil and gas sector,” said Mike Cousins, vice president of exploration at ExxonMobil.
The Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers) and contains an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil of recoverable resources.
The Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil announced another oil discovery off their coast last April, the Uaru-2 well in the Stabroek block.
Guyana, which was one of the poorest countries in South America, is experiencing a revolution since the discovery of its oil reserves and expects to reach a production of 1.2 barrels per day by the end of this decade.
In the midst of the country’s ongoing transformation to an oil economy, authorities last week passed groundbreaking legislation that establishes 40 different services that foreign oil and gas companies must purchase from Guyanese companies.
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