United States Energy giant ExxonMobil says it has made two more oil discoveries in the Stabroek block offshore the South American CARICOM country of Guyana.
The discoveries add to the previously announced oil estimates for the block of 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
The U.S corporation said it struck the high-quality oil and hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs at the Fangtooth-1 and Lau Lau-1 wells in the block off Guyana, which is a location that remains as one of ExxonMobil’s priority sites for future exploration and production.
“Both discoveries increase our understanding of the resource, our continued confidence in the block’s exploration potential, and our view that the many discoveries to date could result in up to 10 development projects,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said the government “remains confident” that these two additional discoveries, which add to the 26 commercially feasible finds, will further strengthen Guyana’s position as a country with world-class discoveries of high-quality hydrocarbon.
“Therefore, the government will continue engaging all stakeholders towards the exponential development of these resources for all Guyanese while maintaining a social, economic, and environmental balance.
“In addition, the government of Guyana is continually examining possibilities to strengthen oversight and management of the exploration programmes of all operators to further expand the sector through commercial discoveries,” Bharrat said.
However, the discoveries came in the wake of many, including the Guyanese-Diaspora group, expressing dissatisfaction at late last year’s passing of the Guyana Natural Resource Fund Act without consultation with the parliamentary opposition or other civil society stakeholders.
