New oil find in Guyana

New York – The US oil and energy company, Hess, Wednesday announced a “significant new oil discovery” at Fangtooth SE-1, one year after the original Fangtooth-1 discovery.

Hess, the 30 percent joint venture partner in the Stabroek Block, said the Fangtooth SE-1 well encountered approximately 200 feet of oil bearing sandstone reservoirs, adding to the Stabroek Block’s gross discovered recoverable resource estimate of more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company said the recent discovery “has the potential to underpin a future oil development.”

The Ministry of Natural Resources said it has noted the information and is currently working with Exxon who is completing the analysis so as to make the information available.

Hess is a co-venturer with a 30 per cent stake in the Stabroek Block. Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, is the operator in the block, and has a 45 per cent stake. The other partner is China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Hess has also reported significant earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022- a large sharing drawn from the production in Guyana.

Earlier this week, the company said it would increase spending on capital projects this year by US$1 billion, to US$3.7 billion, mostly for its Guyana’s and North Dakota’s Bakken shale field projects.

EEPGL plans to start production in the Payara Field in late 2023 or early 2024 to add 220 000 barrels per day. (CMC)