LatAmOil: ExxonMobil drills dry hole at Jabillo-1

ExxonMobil (US) has experienced a disappointment at Canje, a deepwater block offshore Guyana, as it did not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in the Jabillo-1 well.

According to Canada’s Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, an indirect shareholder in the project, the exploration well was able to test the designated target layers – namely Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in a stratigraphic trap. However, the company said in a statement, Jabillo-1 “did not show evidence of commercial hydrocarbons.” As such, it will be plugged and abandoned.

ExxonMobil and the other shareholders in the Canje project are now pinning their hopes on the next exploration drilling target – Sapote-1, which lies in the eastern section of the block. The partners expect to spud the new well in mid-August, after the Stena DrillMAX drillship finishes its current assignment at the neighbouring Stabroek block, which is also operated by ExxonMobil.

“While today’s update from JHI is disappointing, this is the nature of oil exploration,” commented Gil Holzman, Eco Atlantic’s co-founder and CEO. “Our stakeholders continue to support our exploration efforts and look for us to continue to define these near-term high-impact opportunities. Our next focus is the Sapote-1 prospect to be spudded in the upcoming weeks, which brings us another opportunity to share in what we hope to be another major ExxonMobil-led discovery.”