Noble Tom Madden drillship drilled the Guyana well for ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil’s resource estimate for Guyana block rises to 10 billion barrels

Oil major ExxonMobil has increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to approximately 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels following its latest discovery.

Noble Tom Madden drillship; Source: Noble Corp.

The updated resource estimate includes a new discovery at the Cataback-1 well, which brings the total significant discoveries to more than 20 within the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil said on Thursday.

Namely, the Cataback-1 well encountered 243 feet (74 meters) of net pay in high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs. It is located approximately 3.7 miles (6 kilometres) east of Turbot-1 and was drilled in 5,928 feet (1,807 meters) of water by the Noble Tom Madden drillship. The Turbot-1 discovery was announced back in October 2017.

Commenting on the latest discovery off Guyana, Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil, stated: “This discovery adds to the resource in the Turbot/Tripletail area, enhancing the development project potential.”

“Our proprietary technologies, global exploration experience and drilling capabilities continue to yield positive results in the Stabroek Block, which will generate additional value for Guyana.”

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

In a separate statement on Thursday, Hess said that the latest estimate is up from the previous estimate of more than 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Hess CEO, John Hess, said: “We are pleased that Cataback is our 21st significant discovery on the Stabroek Block and further underpins the potential for future developments. We continue to see multibillion barrels of additional exploration potential remaining on the block.”

ExxonMobil announced its 20th discovery in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana in September 2021.