The Stabroek Block is now being estimated to contain 3.2 billion oil equivalent recoverable barrels of oil following the discovery of high bearing oil reservoir at the Ranger-1 field.
“Today we felt confident to increase our estimate for the Stabroek Block so that’s the five finds to date (Liza, Liza Deep, Payara, Turbo, and Snoek) it doesn’t include Ranger,” Exxon’s Public and Government Affairs Director, Kimberley Brasington told the Department of Public Information (DPI).
The Stabroek Block which is located offshore Guyana is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres) and was previously estimated at 2.25 to 2.75 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Exploration, on Friday announced that it encountered 230ft of the high-quality oil-bearing reservoir at the Ranger-1 field after drilling in 9,000ft of water and 21,000ft into the earth.
The company began drilling Ranger-1, which is located 60 miles northwest of Liza, last November. Brasington noted that this find is “a carbonate reservoir as opposed to sandstone” which the other discoveries were.
She explained the difference between these two distinctions: “A carbonate play…it’s more porous and so it’s similar to a reef that…hardens over time. That is the difference…the sandstone is tighter. It’s just a completely different geology than we have discovered in the Stabroek block to date.”
However, Brasington was cautious to quantify the new find. “It’s too early to speculate on how the big the actual Ranger field is right now. We will drill another appraisal well, a Ranger-2 well, in 2018 that will help us determine the full commerciality of Ranger and identify the size of it,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the discovery has increased confidence among Exxon and its partners, CNOOC Nexen and Hess Corporation, for exploring the Stabroek Block. Brasington noted the Stenna Carron drill rig is expected to move to a new field, Pacora, after wrapping up appraisal drilling at Ranger-2.
Brasington said that Exxon remains committed to transparency even as it continues exploration and development of the Stabroek Block. “The Petroleum Agreement is that binding document in which we all operate under to bring these resources to bear and so that contract holds us accountable to the people of Guyana to develop this resource in a responsible way, so the country can benefit from the revenue.”
