U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has reportedly started drilling at the Bulletwood-1 well site on the Canje Block, offshore Guyana.
The news was shared Tuesday by Westmount Energy, an indirect partner in the Canje Block. Westmount owns an indirect interest in the Canje Block as a result of its circa 7.2% interest in the issued share capital of JHI Associates.
Citing a statement by the Maritime Administration Department, Guyana, dated January 1, 2021, Westmount said that the Stena Carron drillship had arrived on location at the Bulletwood-1 wellsite on the Canje Block, offshore Guyana "and has commenced drilling operations."
The Canje Block is operated by ExxonMobil (35%), with Total (35%), JHI (17.5%), and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. (12.5%) as partners.
Per Westmount, Bulletwood-1 is a 500 MMbbl oil prospect targeting a Liza look-alike, confined channel complex, of Late Cretaceous, Campanian, age.
Liza is an oilfield found by Exxon in the prolific Stabroek block, off Guyana. The first phase of Liza development has been in production since December 2019.
Westmount said that, based upon the announcement by the Maritime Administration Department, drilling operations at Bulletwood-1 are scheduled to be completed on or before the 23rd February 2021.
As a result of a 2018 farm-out to Total, JHI is carried for the drilling of up to four wells, including Bulletwood-1, and is funded for the drilling of additional wells.
Gerard Walsh, Chairman of Westmount Energy Ltd. commented: "Bulletwood-1 is the first well in a multi-well, fully funded, drilling campaign being operated by ExxonMobil on the Canje Block over the next 6 months or so. This campaign will evaluate high impact Upper Cretaceous prospects in the proven Liza play fairway with, in some cases, additional deeper reservoir targets. It also provides Westmount shareholders exposure to a portfolio of drilling outcomes over a compressed timeframe. Success from some of the wells in this portfolio could result in transformational value changes for Westmount."
Exxon in November 2020 used the Stena Carron to drill at the Tanager-1 well, offshore Guyana.
Unlike Exxon's previous Guyana wells which were drilled in the Stabroek offshore block, and which discovered more than 8 billion barrels of oil, the Tanager-1 well was drilled in the nearby Kaieteur Block, and was reported to be a non-commercial discovery.