Frontera, CGX to see first oil in Guyana by 2030, seek partners (updated)

CGX Energy

11/12/2023 17:37

(Adds context, details and quote in paragraphs 3-8, and 10-12)
    By Marianna Parraga
       HOUSTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Frontera Energy  FEC.TO  and
CGX Energy  OYL.V  expect to make a final investment decision by
2026 on developing a promising Guyana offshore block, with first
oil output potentially by 2030, executives from the companies
said on Monday.
    The Frontera-CGX joint venture could become the next group
to advance an oil and gas exploration project in Guyana after an
Exxon Mobil-led  XOM.N  consortium. That group began output in
2019 and is this year producing some 400,000 barrels per day.
    U.S. investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey has been
retained to help Frontera and CGX "pursuing options" for a
possible deal to find partners for developing the Corentyne
block's potential, they said in a release. 
        The appraisal of the entire area is expected to be
finished in 2025. If a positive final investment decision is
made, the consortium would move to topsides construction for a
floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel,
drilling and subsea architecture.    
  
        The companies and subsidiaries had exploration licenses
for several large blocks in Guyana, but following discussion
with Guyana's government, in 2022 they agree to focus on
Corentyne. 
  
        Guyana recently received bids from international and
local firms for eight new blocks to be awarded soon.
  
        The joint venture retained Subsea Integration Alliance
(SIA), an oilfield services group by SLB's  SLB.N  OneSubsea and
Subsea7, to complete a conceptual field development plan for
Corentyne, it said during the presentation.
  
    The timeline for Corentyne's development comes after the
firms analyzed data from the Wei-1 exploration well, where they
identified medium sweet oil, but they have not yet estimated the
area's full potential, said Mark Zoback from CGX's board of
directors.
    The venture has identified gross prospective resources of
between 514 million and 628 million barrels of oil and gas in
the Maastrichtian horizons alone, and additional potential in
the deeper Campanian and Santonian horizons.    
        "We are working on the deeper zones, it's high
priority," Zoback said.
  
        Frontera and CGX believe that the rock quality
discovered in the Maastrichtian horizon is analogous to that
reported in Exxon's Liza discovery.
  
       
  

 (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Gary McWilliams)
 ((marianna.parraga@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters
Messaging: @mariannaparraga))