Offshore Guyana Twice as Nice for Tullow

Tullow Oil plc reported Monday that it has discovered oil at the Joe-1 exploration well in the Orinduik license offshore Guyana.

According to Tullow, Joe-1 opens up a new Upper Tertiary oil plan in the Guyana basin. It also marks the company’s second Orinduik discovery, following the Jethro-1 find that it reported last month.

“I am very pleased that we have made back-to-back discoveries in Guyana and successfully opened a new, shallower play in the Upper Tertiary age of the Guyana basin with our second well,” Angus McCoss, Tullow’s exploration director, said in a written statement emailed to Rigzone.

Drilled by the Stena Forth drillship, Joe-1 reached a total depth of 7,136 feet (2,175 meters) in 2,559 feet (780 meters) of water, Tullow stated. The company, whose Tullow Guyana B.V. subsidiary operates the Orinduik block and owns a 60-percent stake in the license, also noted that Joe-1 encountered 46 feet (14 meters) of net oil pay and de-risks the petroleum system in the western Orinduik.

Total E&P Guyana B.V. holds a 25-percent interest in Orinduik, with Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc. owning the remaining 15 percent. After it concludes operations in Guyana, Stena Forth will set sail for Ghana, Tullow noted.

Tullow stated the Orinduik partners will evaluate data from Joe-1 alongside data from Jethro-1, also awaiting the outcome of the Carapa well to tailor the exploration and development program. The company pointed out the Rowan EXL II jack-up rig is slated to spud the non-operated Carapa-1 well on the Kanuku license late this month.

“The Joe-1 discovery and its surrounding prospects represent another area of significant potential in the Orinduik Block and we are greatly looking forward to the next phase of the program as we continue to unlock the multi-billion barrel potential of this acreage,” concluded McCoss.