ExxonMobil and Hess have announced a ninth discovery in the Stabroek Block located offshore Guyana following the drilling of the Hammerhead-1 well.
Image: The Hammerhead-1 well in the Stabroek Block was drilled by the Stena Carron drillship. Photo: courtesy of Hess Corporation.
The latest discovery in the Stabroek Block comes a little over two months after the eighth discovery in the offshore block in the form of the Longtail field. It is also the fifth discovery for the partners in the offshore Guyanese concession this year.
According to the partners, the Hammerhead-1 well intersected nearly 197ft of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir after being drilled by the Stena Carron drillship for 13,862ft depth in 3,373ft of water. Hammerhead-1 is located nearly 21km southwest of the Liza-1 well.
ExxonMobil Exploration president Steve Greenlee said: “The Hammerhead-1 discovery reinforces the potential of the Guyana basin, where ExxonMobil is already maximizing value for all stakeholders through rapid phased developments and accelerated exploration plans.
“Development options for Hammerhead will take into account ongoing evaluation of reservoir data, including a well test.”
The other discoveries in the Stabroek Block made before Hammerhead and Longtail are Liza, Liza Deep, Payara, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger and Pacora.
Hess CEO John Hess said: “Hammerhead is another significant oil discovery that further demonstrates the tremendous prospectivity of the Stabroek Block, where we continue to see multi billion barrels of additional exploration potential.
“This ninth discovery further enhances our potential to maximize value through rapid phased development.”
The partners believe that there is potential for more production in the Stabroek Block from significant undrilled targets and implementation for rapid exploration and appraisal drilling.
They further said that a second exploration vessel in the form of the Noble Tom Madden is slated to arrive in Guyana in October to take part in exploration of high potential opportunities. The Noble Tom Madden vessel will start drilling at the Pluma prospect, which is located nearly 27km from Turbot.
ExxonMobil through its affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana owns a stake of 45% in the Stabroek Block and is the operator, while Hess through its subsidiary Hess Guyana Exploration owns a stake of 30%. CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana is the other partner in the Guyanese offshore concession with a stake of 25%.