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Tullow reports larger-than-expected oil find offshore Guyana
UK-LISTED Tullow Oil has found crude oil – and in larger quantities than anticipated – in its rst exploration well at the Orinduik block o - shore Guyana.
In a statement dated August 12, Tullow said it had encountered 55 metres of net pay in the Lower Tertiary strata of the Jethro-1 well. is marks the rst discovery at the block and “[supports] a recoverable oil resources estimate exceeding the rm’s pre-drill forecast,” it stated. e company’s next step will be to evaluate the data collected from the well in order to deter- mine what kind of appraisal activity is appro- priate, it added.
e nd is a positive development, as it indi- cates that other sections of Orinduik are likely to contain commercial hydrocarbon reserves, Tullow said. It “signi cantly de-risks other Ter- tiary-age prospects [at] the Orinduik licence area,” it commented.
The company and its partners spudded Jethro-1 on July 4 and have used the Stena Forth drillship to sink the well to a depth of 4,400 metres. e drilling site lies in 1,350-metre- deep water.
Tullow has said it intends to wrap up work at Jethro-1 in the near future. It will then spud a second exploration well at another section of Orinduik known as Joe before the end of August, with the aim of assessing the potential of shallower formations in the Upper Tertiary layers.
Equity in the Orinduik block is divided between Tullow, the operator, with 60%; EcoAt- lantic (Canada) with 15%; Total (France) with 15% and Qatar Petroleum with 10%. Qatar Petroleum arranged to join the project earlier this summer through a farm-in deal with Total.
Paul McDade, Tullow’s CEO, expressed sat- isfaction with the group’s work at Jethro-1. “ is substantial and high-value oil discovery in Guy- ana is an outcome of the signi cant technical and commercial focus [that] has underpinned the reset of our exploration portfolio,” he was quoted as saying in the company statement. “It is an excellent start to our drilling campaign in the highly proli c Guyana oil province.”
e Orinduik block is located about 120km o shore, in water depths of 70 to 1,400 metres. It covers an area of 1,800 square km.™
EcoAtlantic
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