Jaguar start date
posted on
Apr 08, 2012 09:58AM
Edit this title from the Fast Facts Section
On the Stockhouse board, many are saying that Jaguar drilling started on Dec 5 of last year. This is based on an article in which a reporter states this to be the case, despite the fact that Repsol/CGX's press release clearly states that drilling began in early February 2012. The rig was made available to the Jaguar consortium in December but then had to be transported to the Jaguar site and may also have undergone a maintenance check. This took considerable time, and further delays were encountered to set up the rig before drilling could commence. I have confirmed that Repsol had significant problems setting the retractable legs into position and that drilling did in fact begin in February. The following article is consistent with this timeline (please note the date of the article):
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2012/01/26/repsol-set-to-start-oil-drilling-by-next-week/
Drilling for oil by REPSOL in its Jaguar well location offshore Guyana could
start by next week, officials said yesterday.
According to officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the rig is already in position with critical materials and divers in place.
A Global Orion Diving Vessel arrived on location Sunday along with a ROV (remote submarine) conducting work since Monday.
REPSOL, based in Spain, has operations in more than 35 countries in the field of exploration, production, refining and marketing.
The start of drilling will come after several delays faced by REPSOL and CGX Energy, another company which has concessions in waters offshore Guyana. CGX is also set to start drilling in a number of weeks with a rig on its way to Guyana.
Already, REPSOL has committed to spend around US$150M for the drilling.
Late last year, Guyana granted REPSOL an extension in time to start its drilling.
The company has already reportedly invested around US$50M and is committed to spend more than US$100M for the project.
Guyana and REPSOL are highly optimistic that oil will be found, especially after a September 9th discovery in an area 150-kilometers offshore French Guiana, which is not far from the current area that REPSOL is to drill- which covers a net surface area of 1,260 kilometers square.
Guyana is said to be one of the attractive under-explored basin in the world with a potential of 15.2 billion barrels of oil. Estimates place annual production targets at 50 million barrels.
Under arrangement, government could expect a cash flow of 53%. With fuel purchases from overseas taking a major chunk of the country’s revenues, Guyana will be more than happy to find oil in commercial quantities. Gas prices have been hitting record highs in recent years.