Page 5 - LatAmOil Week 02 2023

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

The company’s COO Greg Hill agreed, empha- horizon of the Lower Campanian and Santo-
sising at the same conference that both Pink- nian that we just tested, and the other times we
tail and Whiptail had been found to contain tested those horizons it was focusing from the
high-quality sandstone reservoirs and large shallower horizon and these horizons, which
amounts of crude oil. “Whiptail and Pinktail by the way are 15,000 feet [4,600 metres] for the
both had deeper zones with good quality hydro- shallow horizon and 18,000 feet [5,500 metres]
carbons in those zones,” he said, according to a for the deeper horizon,” he commented.
report from S&P Platts. The success of drilling at Fangtooth indi-
Little has been said publicly since September cates that ExxonMobil and its partners are in a
2021 about the sixth development project. Oil- good position to keep looking for additional oil
NOW.gy did quote Hess as saying in June of last reserves at Stabroek, he added. ExxonMobil
year that he hoped ExxonMobil would secure “[When] we say there is multi-billion barrels
approval for the installation of its sixth FPSO of exploration potential remaining above and will be closer
by the end of 2023. However, the CEO was not beyond what was discovered, Fangtooth vali-
forthcoming with many details about the part- dates that,” he said. to an FID
ners’ plans, so it is not fully clear how much time Once again, it remains to be seen whether
will be spent on the matter this year. (and how much) time ExxonMobil intends to on Uaru by
Presumably, though, ExxonMobil will be spend on this matter in 2023. Even so, it is likely year-end
spending some time in 2023 trying to decide to devote some thought to the question (at the
whether to move forward at Whiptail/Pinktail. very least), and this means that the company and
By the end of the year, then, it should be closer its partners will end the year with a better idea
to identifying its sixth development objective. about what they want and don’t want in their
seventh development project.
Fangtooth Overall, the US super-major will probably be
Meanwhile, Hess also spoke last week about the paying close attention to the general theme of its
likelihood that Fangtooth will be the focus of the future development objectives at Stabroek this
seventh development project at Stabroek. year. It is likely to make more progress on Uaru
At Goldman Sachs’ Global Energy and than on Fangtooth or Whiptail and Pinktail –
Clean Technology Conference 2022, the CEO and even then, its progress may be tempered by
explained the field’s importance by noting that the need to wait for action on the part of Guy-
ExxonMobil and its partner had succeeded in anese government agencies. Nevertheless, the
finding deeper-lying reserves of oil, thereby company will be closer to an FID on Uaru by
opening up a new play. “Fangtooth itself is year-end, and it will probably have made some
meaningful because it was the first of the deeper headway on projects six and seven as well. ™

Uaru may begin production in late 2026 or early 2027 (Image based on ExxonMobil graphics)

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