CGX- Frontera joint venture discovers oil offshore Guyana

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 June 2023, 10:40 by Denis Chabrol

Canadian oil exploration companies, CGX Energy Inc. and Frontera Energy on Wednesday announced their discovery of oil at the Wei-1 well in the Corentyne block offshore Guyana.

The joint venturers said they discovered approximately 200 kilometers offshore from Georgetown, Guyana.

“The Joint Venture has successfully finished drilling operations without any safety incidents and expects to release the drilling rig in early July 2023,” they said in a statement.

CGX and Frontera explained that the Wei-1 well encountered 210 feet of hydrocarbon bearing sands in the Santonian horizon. The Joint
Venture said they acquired wireline logs and extensive core samples from the Santonian, however, due to a tool  failure downhole and a new tool not being available, oil samples were not obtained.

“The rock and fluid properties of the Santonian will now be analyzed by an independent third-party laboratory over the next 2-
3 months to define net pay and a basis for the evaluation of this interval,” the co-venturers said.

The Joint Venture said it has updated its previously announced discovery in the Maastrichtian and the Campanian intervals to 77 feet of net pay.

Fluid samples were retrieved from the Campanian and Maastrichtian indicating the presence of light crude in the Campanian and sweet medium crude oil in the Maastrichtian, CGX-Frontera said.

The Joint Venture’s data acquisition program included wireline logging, MDT fluid samples and sidewall cores throughout the various intervals. Over the next few months, results will be integrated into the geologic and geophysical models to form an updated view of the entire northern portion of the Corentyne block.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, in reaction, said “the outcome of these evaluations will enable CGX Energy Inc. to ascertain whether the second discovery in the block holds potential for commercial interest. We eagerly await the results of this analysis.”

The Natural Resources Ministry noted that this recent discovery marks a significant milestone in offshore Guyana’s exploration
endeavours, with a total of 45 findings since 2015, reaffirming the country’s hydrocarbon potential outside of the highly productive Stabroek Block.

The northern portion of the Corentyne block includes the channel complexes discovered by the Kawa-1 and Wei-1 wells, and a prospective central channel complex, which is yet to be evaluated.

The Joint Venture says it  is excited by the definitive presence of oil in the Maastrichtian and Campanian and the presence of hydrocarbons in the Santonian and believes there is significant potential in the block.

CGX is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company focused on the exploration of oil in the Guyana Suriname Basin and the development of a deep-water port in Berbice, Guyana.

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage, and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 31 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana, and pipeline and
port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible manner.