More than one week after ExxonMobil announced that it is seeking approval for a fifth development at the Uaru+ well, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday said that the application is currently been screened.
“As part of the authorisation process, the EPA is required to publish a decision on whether proposed projects require an Environmental Impact Assessment. It is at this time that the Project Summary is simultaneously published. The application is currently being screened and when that process is completed a decision will be published along with the Project Summary,” the EPA said in a statement.
On April 4, days after it received both the environmental permit from the EPA and the production licence from the Ministry of Natural Resources for the Yellowtail Development, ExxonMobil’s Country Manager Alastair Routledge announced that the application had been submitted.
“Even as we make this final investment decision for Yellowtail, our team here in Guyana has submitted an application for environmental authorisation for a fifth development in the Stabroek Block – Uaru+,” he had said.
“This reflects our commitment to steadily and of course, responsibly, develop the current resource estimate of more than 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels. These developments and our ongoing exploration success, will enable the continued advancement of our Guyanese workforce and the companies that are supporting our activities, all while enabling enhanced economic growth for the country,” he added.
Discovery of oil at the Uaru-2 well in the Stabroek Block was made in late April of last year and was ExxonMobil’s 19th discovery offshore Guyana.
When it made the discovery, the company stated that Uaru-2 will add to the previously announced gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the block, which was then estimated to be approximately 9 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
“Drilling at Uaru-2 encountered approximately 120 feet (36.7 meters) of high quality oil bearing reservoirs including newly identified intervals below the original Uaru-1 discovery. The well was drilled in 5,659 feet (1,725 meters) of water and is located approximately 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) south of the Uaru-1 well,” the company said.
In January 2020, a release from ExxonMobil announced that Uaru-1 was the 16th discovery in the Stabroek Block. The well encountered approximately 94 feet (29 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled in 6,342 feet (1,933 meters) of water.
The regulatory permits covers both wells and the “+” references other potential discoveries in proximity to the Uaru discoveries, this newspaper understands.
