With final prep out of the way, Guyana partners ready to drill upon Noble rig’s arrival

Partners in the Corentyne block offshore Guyana – Canada’s CGX Energy and Frontera Energy – have wrapped up the preparations for the drilling of their second exploration well on this block. As a result, all the boxes have been ticked to spud the well once the Noble-owned rig, which has been hired to carry out these operations, arrives at the location.

Frontera and CGX disclosed a plan to spend up to $130 million on their second exploration well on the Corentyne block, following positive results from the first well, Kawa-1. Once funding for the second well was secured, the two players anticipated the spudding of the well, called Wei-1, to take place in October 2022.

To this end, the JV exercised its option to use the Maersk Discoverer (now called Noble Discoverer) semi-submersible rig for the drilling of this well. The rig originally secured a contract in April 2021 for the drilling of the Kawa-1 exploration well on the Corentyne block.

Furthermore, Frontera and CGX recently revised the spud window for the Wei-1 well as the Noble Discoverer rig run into delays on its current assignment with Shell in Trinidad and Tobago due to “unforeseen challenges to the exploration activities.” In light of this, the start of drilling operations in Guyana was anticipated between December 2022 and late January 2023.

In an update on Monday, Frontera and CGX confirmed that final preparations were completed in advance of the spudding of the well located approximately 14 kilometres northwest of the Kawa-1 exploration well in the Corentyne block, approximately 200 kilometres offshore from Georgetown, Guyana.

As part of these preparations, the JV has agreed with the government of Guyana that the Wei-1 well will be spudded no later than 31 January 2023, utilising the Noble Discoverer rig, which is in keeping with the schedule provided to CGX by Noble to allow the rig to complete its current obligations in Trinidad.

Orlando Cabrales, Chief Executive Officer of Frontera, commented: “The Joint Venture remains firmly committed to drilling the Wei-1 well and we are grateful for the ongoing support from the government of Guyana as we mutually work to unlock the potentially transformational opportunity before us at Corentyne.

“Significant investment, planning and work has been completed in preparation to drill Wei-1 and we are ready to drill the well upon rig arrival in one of the most exciting exploration areas in the world.”

The Wei-1 well, targeting Maastrichtian, Campanian and Santonian aged stacked channels in a western channel complex in the northern section of the Corentyne block, will be drilled in a water depth of approximately 1,912 feet (583 metres) to an anticipated total depth of 20,500 feet (6,248 metres).

The 2009-built Noble Discoverer, which will carry out this assignment, is a DSS-21 column-stabilized dynamically positioned, sixth-generation semi-submersible drilling rig, capable of operating in water depths of up to 10,000 ft.