ExxonMobil gearing up to spud wildcat well off Brazil

Oil major ExxonMobil is preparing to drill an exploration well in waters offshore Brazil, using Seadrill’s West Saturn drillship.

Petroleo Hoje, a Brazilian publisher specializing in oil and gas news, reported on Monday that ExxonMobil and Seadrill are preparing for the drilling campaign in the country and the West Saturn drillship is already located at block CM-789, in the Campos Basin.

ExxonMobil is the operator of the exploration block CM-789 and has a 40 per cent interest with Petrobras and Qatar Petroleum as partners each holding a 30 per cent interest.

According to the Brazilian news provider, the rig arrived on location on Monday, 11 January and is undergoing tests over the next few days in preparation to start drilling operations at the Opal well over the upcoming weekend.

Seadrill’s latest fleet status report, published in November 2020, shows that the West Saturn’s contract with ExxonMobil was scheduled to start this month. The rig’s day rate is $225,000.

The contract for the 2014-built drillship is scheduled to end in July 2021 unless Exxon uses its options available under the contract which could keep the rig operating for the oil major until December 2023.

ExxonMobil has also recently started drilling operations at the Bulletwood-1 well site on the Canje Block located offshore Guyana, using the Stena Carron drillship.

Bulletwood-1 is a 500 mmbbl oil prospect targeting a Liza look-alike, confined channel complex, of Late Cretaceous, Campanian, age.

ExxonMobil also used the Stena Carron to drill at the Tanager-1 well offshore Guyana in November 2020.