ExxonMobil hits third dry hole offshore Guyana

US major ExxonMobil has hit a dry hole for the third time in four months in an otherwise successful campaign in prolific acreage offshore Guyana.

The Bulletwood-1 well that was the first to be spudded on the ultradeep Canje block "showed evidence of non-commercial hydrocarbons," the company told Argus today.

Bulletwood-1 was spudded on 1 January in Canje, the third block in Guyana in which ExxonMobil has an operating interest. Canje is 180km offshore and lies north of the Stabroek block where the company started crude production at its Liza-1 project in December 2019.

The company said every well, even dry holes, provide valuable data. "Our exploration success in Guyana is 80pc with 18 discoveries on the Stabroek block," with resources of 9bn bl equivalent the company said.

ExxonMobil has not said whether the result of Bulletwood-1 has affected its plan for spudding the Jabillo-1 and Sapote-1 prospects on Canje by the end of 2021. The company said it expects to drill 10 exploration and appraisal wells in 2021.

ExxonMobil has a 35pc operating stake in Canje, while France's Total has 35pc, Canadian junior JHI Associates has 17.5pc and local firm Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas has 12.5pc.

The company also had dry holes on the Hassa-1 well on 16 January, and the Tanager-1 well in November, the first the company drilled on the Kaieteur block northeast of Stabroek.

Output from Stabroek started in December 2019 and is running around 120,000 b/d and is projected to reach 750,000 b/d by 2026, the company said.

By Canute James