Joint Venture partners CGX and Frontera have received environmental authorization to spud the Wei-1 exploration well at the Corentyne block offshore Guyana.
In a statement on Monday, CGX said, “the Joint Venture has received the required environmental permitting for spudding and drilling of the Wei-1 exploration well from the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency.”
In addition, the company announced the Joint Venture has entered into a definitive agreement with Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore Pte for the use of the Maersk Discoverer to drill the exploration well.
The drilling of Wei-1 is expected to begin in October this year.
After searching for more than 22 years, the Canadian oil explorer struck oil in commercial quantities at the Kawa-1 well offshore the Corentyne.
It had said that the Kawa-1 well encountered approximately 177 feet (54 metres) of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs within Maastrichtian, Campanian and Santonian horizons based on initial evaluation of Logging While Drilling (LWD) data. It said that these intervals are similar in age and can be correlated using regional seismic data to recent successes in Block 58 in Suriname and the Stabroek Block in Guyana.
Over the years, Frontera became the major shareholder in CGX because of a series of transactions connected to the financing of CGX’s well exploration programme. CGX had sunk several wells on- and offshore but did not find oil in commercial quantities.
Frontera is a Canadian public company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities.
CGX recently announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with the Government of Guyana to allow for the relinquishment of the Berbice and Demerara blocks through a mutual termination agreement, the terms of which remain to be defined and documented.
CGX is focused on the exploration for oil in the Guyana-Suriname Basin and the development of a deep-water port in Berbice, Guyana.
Earlier this month, CGX announced that because of certain delays, the company believes it is unlikely that the offshore supply base of the port will be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2022 as previously envisioned.
“A revised schedule for completion of the offshore supply base of the port is being discussed with the contractor and the Company anticipates providing an updated timeline to shareholders and stakeholders in due course,” CGX said.
CGX has reported a US$6.8 million loss for the first half of 2022.
Meanwhile, the Company said an access bridge from Corentyne Highway, rehabilitation of access road, construction of the laydown yard, construction of the Sea Defense Rip Rap, extension of electricity infrastructure to the port site and delivery of potable water to the port have all been completed.
According to CGX, requests for proposals were received for the wharf platform and access trestle, capital dredging program, design and construction of all gates, buildings, design, and construction of firefighting and first aid structures and covered storage areas.
Evaluations of submitted proposals for the capital dredging and construction of the wharf platform and access trestle were completed and a local contractor selected. The successful bid incorporates an update to the design of the wharf and trestle to realize cost efficiencies.
CGX says the facility intends to serve as an offshore supply base for the oil and gas industry and as a multi-purpose terminal cargo handling base to service agricultural import/export, containerized and specialized cargo. “The BDWP aims to enable provisioning of operators and vendors in territorial waters of both Guyana and Suriname.”
