Exxon keeps drilling, Guyana keeps giving

U.S. oil major ExxonMobil on Thursday announced it made a fifth new oil discovery after drilling the Turbot-1 well offshore Guyana.

Turbot adds to Exxon’s  previous discoveries at Liza, Payara, Snoek and Liza Deep wells in the Stabroek Block.

Following completion of the Turbot-1 well, the Stena Carron drillship will move to the Ranger prospect. An additional well on the Turbot discovery is being planned for 2018, Exxon said.

Exxon started drilling the Turbot-1 well on Aug. 14, 2017 and encountered a reservoir of 75 feet (23 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone in the primary objective. The well was safely drilled to 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 5,912 feet (1,802 meters) of water on Sept. 29, 2017.

The Turbot-1 well is located in the southeastern portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the southeast of the Liza phase one project.

“The results from this latest well further illustrate the tremendous potential we see from our exploration activities offshore Guyana,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. “ExxonMobil, along with its partners, will continue to further evaluate opportunities on the Stabroek Block.”

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

Keppel scores FPSO deal

As previously reported, ExxonMobil has approved the development of the first phase of the Liza field located in the same block, using an FPSO supplied by the Dutch specialist SBM Offshore.

Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard on Thursday said it secured a floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) conversion contract from SBM Offshore. The contract is for the conversion of a very large crude carrier (VLCC) into an FPSO destined for Exxon’s Liza field.

The converted FPSO will have a storage capacity of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil and will be capable of producing up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. The vessel will have a gas treatment capacity of circa 170 million standard cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of circa 200,000 barrels of water per day.

Gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek block are estimated at 2 billion to 2.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels, which includes Liza and other successful exploration wells on Liza Deep, Payara, Snoek, and as of today, Turbot.

Production from Liza is expected to begin by 2020, less than five years after discovery of the field. Phase 1 is expected to cost just over $4.4 billion, which includes a lease capitalization cost of approximately $1.2 billion for the FPSO unit.

Offshore Energy Today Staff