February 15th, 2020 – Georgetown, Guyana – As more wells of the Liza field come online, estimates for the recoverable reserves offshore continue to increase.
ExxonMobil – the most recent to update their estimates – released a statement increasing their estimated recoverable reserves in Guyana to over 8 billion oil-equivalent barrels. This is an increase of 2 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the previous estimate, and includes the recent 16th discovery well, Uaru.
“With recent high-quality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefits for the people of Guyana,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “The Uaru discovery is another positive step as we begin a new decade with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and our co-venturers.”
Tullow Oil followed Exxon’s announcement with their own. The Orinduik Block, licensed by Tullow Oil-led JV (other partners are Total and Eco Atlantic), was originally estimated to hold 3,981 MMBOE in March 2019. The update announced by Tullow now puts the recoverable resource estimate in the Orinduik Block at 5.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This is an increase on original estimates of more than a billion barrels, driven in part by the recent discovery of light oil in Carapa-1, a discovery well drilled in Kanuku, a block south of Tullow’s Orinduik.
Says Lars Mangal, CEO TOTALTEC, “As estimates for total recoverable resource offshore Guyana continue to climb, so will activity in the region, and with it the need for local infrastructure to handle and service this activity. Local training initiatives, locally-led infrastructure projects and transparent government policy will ensure that local people, companies and investors have the role they deserve in the development of the Guyana energy sector.”
Alongside updates in Guyana, the estimates for recoverable reserves found offshore Suriname increase, as Apache celebrate a ‘significant’ oil discovery in the Maka Central-1 well, drilled offshore Suriname in block 58. Block 58 is approximately 1.4 million acres, and will be watched closely as further wells are drilled.
The global FPSO market is shown to be responding to changes in estimates from Guyana, evidenced in the Energy Maritime Associates 2020-2024 FPSO Global Outlook Report. Orders continue to increase, with 19 contracts for Floating Production units awarded in 2019, including 13 FPSOs. The data does not specify the number of FPSOs on order for Guyana, although ExxonMobil is estimated to ramp up to 5 FPSOs in the coming years.
It is worth noting that among the positive discoveries, there are also some notable shifts in operational plans and proposed test sites as certain discovery wells result in sulfur-heavy and non-commercial oil. Despite these minor setbacks, confidence in the play offshore Guyana continues to grow with more development plans being crafted.
Image courtesy of The Habari Network
About TOTALTEC
TOTALTEC Oilfield Services is focused on the success of the oil industry in Guyana for the benefit of the country, its people, and partner companies. It does this through three areas: people, partnerships, and facilities. Qualified and motivated Guyanese develop through the International Petroleum & Maritime Academy. Partnerships prioritize products and services that are starting points to grow from, creating new Guyanese led companies. Examples are Guyana Shore Base, Inc. providing support to offshore operations and Jaguar Oilfield Services offering a complete range of lifting equipment and inspection services. The 94% Guyanese TOTALTEC workforce includes 8 nationalities with over 160 years of international oilfield experience. https://www.totaltec-os.com