The exploratory ‘Jaguar 1’ oil well to be drilled offshore Guyana next year will be the deepest ever drilled in the region, at a depth of four miles, officials of Spanish oil giant, Repsol said as the company formally opened its Duke Street office here last evening.
“Jaguar 1 has been approved to drill to a TD (total depth) of 21, 485 feet. That’s approximately four miles below the surface of the earth,” said Allan Kean, Repsol’s Atlantic Basins Exploration Manager. “That’s our plan and it’s gonna be… a very challenging and difficult well but I think we’re up to the task”, he added pointing out that the company has hired world class consultants, has a great cadre of Repsol drilling engineers and has a nearby business unit in Trinidad to help support this operation. Repsol plans to begin drilling for oil on its offshore Georgetown Block in April next year.
Amidst much excitement and with hopes expressed that the well would be successful, Kean told the audience that included Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Spain’s Ambassador to Guyana, Joaquin Aristegui and top regional Repsol officials that details have been reviewed from well design to actions to be taken should there be an incident like British Petroleum’s well blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. “We’re doing everything possible to make sure that we definitely design this well for the worst-case scenario so we take every precaution to make sure that there’s no incident like was experienced in the Gulf of Mexico this past year”, Kean assured.
Drilling the well- the first to be spudded offshore Guyana in ten years, will cost over US$100M and is scheduled to last six months. The Atwood Beacon jack-up drilling rig is currently operating offshore Suriname and will soon be mobilized here. Kean said that it has been a totally integrated process and the company has done geological studies and 3-D surveys to reduce geological risk. “We take this gamble with no guarantees of return on our investment but that’s our business and we do this regularly so that, you know, one in so many, you know, hopefully this one comes in…”
The Georgetown Block was awarded to Repsol in 1997. It has roped in joint venture partners for the Jaguar 1 well and now holds 15% participating interest. The partners include Repsol’s affiliate, YPF Guyana Limited (30%), Tullow Guyana BV (30%) and CGX Resources (25%). “We’re gonna do everything we can to ensure that it is engineered properly, that every technical, health and safety and environmental consideration are taken into account, that we drill a safe well and hopefully it ends up being productive at the end of the day”, Kean reiterated.
Repsol is one of the most active explorers in South and Central America and is present in nine countries from Argentina to Mexico. It has drilled wells in diverse areas such as the deep waters off Brazil to the foothills of the Andes in Peru and deserts of Patagonia.
The company operates in all kinds of environments and total investment in exploration every year exceeds 600M Euros, Joseba Murilla, Repsol’s Exploration Director (Latin America) said. He pointed out that the company has well- established oil production in Trinidad, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and other countries and is one of the most successful explorers in the continent. He said that they have come to Guyana with the best people, equipment, technologies and practices. He said that Jaguar 1 will be one of the deepest wells to be drilled in the basin. “We hope for the best. We hope we will be successful”, he said.
The job is not going to be an easy one, Repsol’s Caribbean Regional Executive Director, Alvaro Racero said noting the depth of the well to be drilled. “I feel quite confident that although it is challenging technically, we do have in place the calibre of the people we have to overcome this challenge”, he said. He noted that preparations are going ahead and it is a real pleasure to see the project becoming a reality. “The coming months ahead of us is very, very hectic in terms of making sure that from hereon to the spudding of the well, everything is right”, he commented.
Ambassador Aristegui also made some remarks while Hinds said that he hopes Repsol will be here for decades and he hopes for a “big, giant find”.
The well will be the first drilled offshore since CGX Energy abortive effort in 2000. Currently, Groundstar Resources and its partner Canacol are preparing to drill on Groundstar’s onshore Takutu block in the Rupununi. Drilling of that well is expected to start in December. Additionally, following the drilling of the Jaguar 1 well, CGX Energy is seeking to have another well drilled at its offshore Eagle location off the Corentyne coast.
