Minexco Petroleum, a private junior oil and gas exploration and production company, is seeking to become the latest addition to the group of companies searching for oil in the Guyana basin. Minexco, which has a presence in West Africa and northern South America, has filed an application to operate a block in Guyana, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported on Wednesday, when company president Efroyim Hecht and a team met with President Donald Ramotar.
GINA said that apart from its exploits in West Africa and northern South America, the company has also operated independently on deep water blocs and through joint ventures in other locations. It also noted that it also conducted a five-day oil and gas training course for local technicians last May. Hecht was quoted as saying that the company prioritises high potential, low risk opportunities, which fit the description of the South American Atlantic basin.
A discovery in the Guyana Maritime permit about 150-kilometers offshore French Guiana in 2011 by Shell, through its Tullow Oil joint venture operations, confirmed the basin’s value, GINA said. Further, it said a United States Geological Survey had estimated the basin to hold an oil resource potential of 13.6 billion barrels of oil, prompting intense explorations by Repsol, CGX, Tullow Oil, YPF and ExxonMobil.
CGX, a reputable Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company which had announced that it had not found oil in its initial search last year, is doing another search with Pacific Rubiales, a major shareholder, and hundreds of millions of US dollars are to be invested.
