Tullow picks second well target for Guyana drilling campaign

Oil company Tullow and its partners on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana have approved the drilling budget and the location of the second well of the 2019 drilling program.

Tullow Oil holds a 60% interest in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin. Its partners are Total with a 25% and Eco Atlantic with the remaining 15% interest.

As previously reported, the Orinduik Block partners approved the initial 2019 work plan and budget for the first Orinduik exploration well on November 30, 2018. The initial budget was for drilling the Jethro-Lobe prospect, which is scheduled to be drilled in June.

Tullow has secured the Stena Drilling-owned Stena Forth drillship for the Orinduik drilling program. The Stena Forth is a harsh environment, dynamically positioned Class 3 drillship, capable of operating in up to 10,000 feet of water to a maximum drill depth of 35,000 feet. The Stena Forth is currently drilling for Tullow in Ghana under a contract awarded in June 2018.

The Joe prospect

On Friday, March 29 Eco Atlantic announced that the partners had selected the second well location, targeting the Joe prospect.

Eco said that the Stena Forth drillship would move directly after the Jethro Lobe well to Joe and begin drilling this second exploration well in mid-July 2019. The Joe well is located in approximately 650 meters of water.

Joe is a 150 mmboe (P50 – Best Estimate) Upper Tertiary target which has a 43.2% chance of success, as estimated in the recently published independent (NI51-101 Compliant) report produced by Gustavson Associates

Net cost to Eco for its 15% working interest in the Joe well is expected to be approximately $3 million. This is significantly less than the expected cost of the first Jethro-Lobe well, which is estimated at approximately $6.9 million, as the cost of mobilizing and demobilizing the drilling rig have all been incorporated into the cost of the first well.

Eco said it is fully funded for the 2019 campaign and beyond having current cash of approximately $19 million. The second well is subject to customary Guyana Department of Energy review.

Colin Kinley, Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: “The approval, at this stage, of a second well is a clear indication of the partners’ risking of Orinduik. All of the partners support a two-well drilling campaign targeting close to 370 million barrels of Gross Prospective Resources (P50 Best) at 43.2% risking, which is well above industry averages anywhere in the world. Both the Upper Tertiary age, Joe and Lower Tertiary age, Jethro are excellent targets and have been selected jointly between our Geoscientific Teams.

“Our recently updated CPR report included a billion barrel increase in Gross Unrisked Prospective Resources to 3,981.9 MMBOE. The evaluation of the Orinduik Block is ongoing and we are confident in our ability to prove up oil in the Tertiary aged section that has already been derisked by our neighbors on the Stabroek Block with the Hammerhead discovery. We have developed an excellent geological and geophysical model that we continue to build on together with our partners.”

Gil Holzman, President and CEO of Eco Atlantic, added: “With the selection by the Orinduik Partners of the second well target for our 2019 drilling campaign, we are now set for a transformational period in the life of our company. With exceptional Partners, a strong cash balance, and an inventory of many high impact drilling targets in the most exciting oil province in the world, we hope to deliver significant value to shareholders in the near term.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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