ExxonMobil has failed to encounter commercial crude at its third well on the Canje Block offshore Guyana – Sapote-1, drilled by the Stena DrillMax. The well was drilled in 2,549 meters (8,362 feet) of water and safely reached a total depth of 6,758 meters (22,172 feet).
JHI Associates, a partner on the block, said while there were no hydrocarbons in the primary exploration objective, the well did record hydrocarbon shows while drilling and logging in a deeper sequence.
Although proven elsewhere in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, this is the first time these reservoir targets have been encountered in the Canje Block. JHI said it believes this finding provides additional exploration potential across its significant acreage position.
When contacted, ExxonMobil Guyana Media and Communication Manager, Janelle Persaud, said Sapote-1, has confirmed the Canje Block partners’ seismic interpretation of the geology and shown evidence of non-commercial hydrocarbons. “Geologic risk is inherent to frontier oil and gas exploration activities. Every well in frontier oil and gas exploration provides invaluable data to inform future activities,” Persaud said. “We will continue to leverage our deepwater expertise and advanced technology to explore frontier environments with the highest value resource potential.”
Sapote-1 follows similar results for Exxon at Jabillo and Bulletwood on the Canje Block, and Tanager at the Kaieteur Block, making Stabroek the only license where massive volumes of commercial crude have so far been found.
In addition to Logging While Drilling (LWD) measurements conducted during the drilling of Sapote, Wireline Logs (WL) were run, and numerous Rotary Sidewall Cores (RSWC) have been collected. Analysis of this data will provide details about reservoir properties, including porosity and permeability, and information on the hydrocarbons’ properties that may be present in core samples.
JHI said the partners will continue to incorporate the data and analysis from Sapote-1 and the rest of the 2021 drilling campaign into future exploration planning and overall strategy for the Canje Block.
“Everyone at JHI is grateful that operations at Sapote-1 have concluded safely. We want to thank our Operator, ExxonMobil, our partners TotalEnergies and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, Inc., the drilling contractor Stena, and all the sub-contractors working on this well,” said John Cullen, CEO.
ExxonMobil Guyana (35%), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation, operates the Canje Block on behalf of partners TotalEnergies E&P Guyana, BV (35%), JHI (17.5%), and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, Inc. (12.5%).