Repsol hits oil pay in Guyana well

Spanish oil and gas company Repsol has encountered oil at the Carapa-1 exploration well drilled on the Kanuku license offshore Guyana.

Repsol is the operator of the Kanuku block with a 37.5% stake. Tullow also holds a 37.5% stake with Total holding the remaining 25%.

Tullow Oil said on Thursday that the Carapa-1 exploration well had encountered approximately four meters of net oil pay based on preliminary interpretation, and has extended the prolific Cretaceous oil play into the group’s Guyana acreage.

According to Tullow, preliminary results of drilling, wireline logging, pressure testing, and sampling of reservoir fluid indicate the discovery of oil in Upper Cretaceous age sandstone reservoirs. Rig site testing has indicated that the oil is 27 degrees API with a sulfur content of less than 1%.

Tullow said that the detailed laboratory analysis of the oil quality would follow in due course. The Carapa oil discovery suggests the extension of the Cretaceous oil play from the Stabroek license southwards into the Kanuku license. While net pay is lower than pre-drill forecasts, the 27 degree API oil supports the significant potential of the Cretaceous play on both the Kanuku and adjacent Orinduik licenses.

The Valaris EXL II jack-up rig drilled the Carapa-1 well to a total depth of 3,290 meters in 68 meters of water and the well will now be plugged and abandoned.

Mark MacFarlane, Chief Operating Officer, commented: “The Carapa-1 result is an important exploration outcome with positive implications for both the Kanuku and Orinduik blocks. While net pay and reservoir development at this location are below our pre-drill estimates, we are encouraged to find good quality oil which proves the extension of the prolific Cretaceous play into our acreage. We will now integrate the results of the three exploration wells drilled in these adjacent licenses into our Guyana and Suriname geological and geophysical models before deciding the future work program.”

Repsol’s Kanuku block is directly in board of the Tullow-operated Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. In a statement on Friday, Eco Atlantic, one of Tullow’s partners in the block, noted Repsol’s Carapa discovery.

Colin Kinley, Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: “The Carapa discovery is very important to us technically and confirms our thinking on prospectivity on our Orinduik block. The existence of a good oil grade unaffected by sulphur in board of us is excellent news. We have a proven source kitchen to the North, with ExxonMobil and partners having defined and now producing 32 API at the Liza field to the North of us, and now a 27 API oil discovery on Carapa to the South of us.

“We continue to gain a good understanding of the transportation and pooling systems, and we can see the reservoirs clearly in the cretaceous. As more wells are drilled, it is becoming clearer to understand and define new drilling locations. We see very significant thick pay opportunities in the cretaceous section on Orinduik and we are currently defining our upcoming drilling plans, which we hope to have confirmed in the next few weeks.

“Eco is currently preparing an updated CPR under TSX and AIM guidelines, which will incorporate the recent discoveries in the Tertiary Section on Orinduik, ExxonMobil’s additional regional discoveries in 2019 and some of the read through we see by the derisking of the cretaceous section, which is estimated to contain close to 3 Billion Barrels of oil on the Orinduik Block, that the Carapa discovery has helped define.

“2020 is a significant year for Eco, and the discovery at Carapa is exactly what we were looking for. We now have drilling prospects that are significantly brightened and we will provide further updates regarding the CPR, analysis of our discoveries to date and upcoming drilling plans soon.”