French oil giant, Total, acquires 12,000sq. km stake in Guyana basin
Feb 06, 2018 , https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...ake-in-guyana-basin/
With interest high in Guyana’s offshore concessions, a major player in the world’s oil arena yesterday announced that it has acquired exploration rights to almost 12,000 square kilometers.
The transaction still has to be approved by authorities in Guyana,
Total, one of the seven “Super major” oil companies in the world, disclosed that it has signed agreements to acquire interests into two exploration licenses offshore Guyana, the Canje Block and the Kanuku Block.
“These agreements come after entering into an option agreement for the nearby Orinduik Block. Subject to the approval of relevant authorities, Total will thus own exploration rights to an area covering over 12,000 square kilometers in the Guyana Basin.”
With high interests and very few areas left to be allocated, exploration companies have been casting their eyes towards the existing concessions already in the hands of a few.
Those stakes would be worth millions of US dollars.
“Total is very pleased with this significant entry in the prolific Guyana Basin,” says Arnaud Breuillac, President, Exploration & Production at Total.
“The Canje, Kanuku and Orinduik blocks are located in a very favourable petroleum context, evidenced by the Liza discovery in 2015. Acquiring interests in these highly prospective licences is in line with the new exploration strategy in place since 2015.”
Total said it was able to acquire a 35% working interest in the Canje Block, located in water depths of 1,700 meters to 3,000 meters, under the terms of the agreement signed with an affiliate of Canadian company JHI Associates, Inc. and Guyana-based company, Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, Inc.
These two companies will retain a shared 30% interest alongside operator ExxonMobil (35%).
Total also acquired a 25% working interest in the Kanuku Block, located in water depths of 70 meters to 100 meters, under the terms of the agreement signed with operator Repsol (37.5%), and will be a partner alongside Tullow (37.5%).
“Total holds an option to purchase a 25% working interest in the Orinduik Block, located in water depths of 70 meters to 100 meters, under the terms of the agreement signed in September 2017 with an affiliate of Canadian company Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd, who will retain a 15% interest following exercise of the option, alongside operator Tullow (60%).”
Total S.A. is a French multinational integrated oil and gas company and one of the seven “Super major” oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading.
Total is also a large scale chemicals manufacturer and is a major player in low-carbon energies.
Total has its head office in the Tour Total in La Défense district in Courbevoie, west of Paris.
In May 2015, ExxonMobil, one of the top five oil companies in the world, announced that it has discovered what appears to be high quality oil, offshore Guyana, about 100 miles from shore.
Several wells later, the discovery was said to be in excess of 3.2B barrels of oil, one of the biggest in recent years.
Guyana has since signed a production agreement and the company is set to start production in 2020, the first commercial oil for this country.
