U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has spudded the Sapote-1 well on the Canje Block, offshore Guyana. This is the company's third well in the block drilled this year. The first two wells, Bulletwood-1 and Jabillo-1, failed to find evidence of commercial hydrocarbons.
The news of the drilling startup was shared by Eco Atlantic, which, in turn, was informed of the spud by its investee company, JHI Associates, one of the partners in the Canje Block.
The Sapote-1 well is designed to test Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in a stratigraphic trap. Drilling of the well is expected to take up to 60 days. The well is approximately 225 km northeast of Georgetown in 2,550 meters of water and is being drilled with the Stena DrillMax drillship.
Eco holds an indirect interest in the Canje Block as a result of its transaction to acquire up to 10% interest in JHI, and JHI is fully funded for the ongoing program on the Canje Block, including for the Sapote-1 well and any additional potential wells considered for this year.
The Sapote-1 prospect is located in the southeastern section of Canje, about50 km north of the Haimara discovery in the Stabroek Block which encountered ~207 feet (63 meters) of high-quality, gas-condensate bearing sandstone reservoir and approximately 60 km northwest of the Maka Central discovery in Block 58 which encountered ~164 feet (50 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
The 2021 exploration program on the Canje Block seeks to test the extension of the prolific hydrocarbon system which has resulted in over 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable resources being discovered by ExxonMobil and its partners Hess and CNOOC in the adjacent Stabroek Block since 2015.
The Canje Block is operated by ExxonMobil (35%), with TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (35%), JHI Associates (BVI) Inc. (17.5%), and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. (12.5%).