ExxonMobil and Hess have announced a new oil discovery in the offshore Guyanese block Stabroek through the drilling of the Lancetfish-1 well.
Lancetfish marks the second discovery for the ExxonMobil-led consortium in 2023 after the oil find at the Fangtooth SE-1 well in the same Guyanese concession.
Drilled by the Noble Don Taylor drillship in a water depth of 5,843ft, the Lancetfish-1 well intersected nearly 92ft of oil-bearing sandstone.
The Lancetfish discovery is located nearly 6.4km southeast of the Fangtooth discovery made in January 2022 through the drilling of the Fangtooth- 1 well.
ExxonMobil Guyana president Alistair Routledge said: “Initial results from the Lancetfish-1 well are encouraging and demonstrate the Stabroek block’s continued exploration potential.
“We continue to increase our understanding of Guyana’s offshore resources with each new discovery.”
Hess revealed that the Stabroek block consortium drilled the Kokwari-1 exploration well during the first quarter of this year but did not find commercial volumes of hydrocarbons.
The Fangtooth SE-1 well, on the other hand, encountered nearly 200ft of oil bearing sandstone reservoirs. It is located nearly 13km southeast of the Fangtooth-1 well.
Spread over an area of 26,800km², the Stabroek block consists of multiple hydrocarbon discoveries, which began with the Liza discovery in 2015.
ExxonMobil through its affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana holds an operating stake of 45% in the block. Hess through its subsidiary Hess Guyana Exploration has a 30% stake, while China’s CNOOC has a 25% stake via its subsidiary CNOOC Petroleum Guyana.
According to ExxonMobil, the Prosperity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel reached Guyanese waters earlier this month. The Prosperity FPSO is targeted to begin production later this year.
The vessel will join the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs, which have produced a combined 375,000 barrels a day in Q1 2023.
