San Francisco: Guyana could be on the verge of becoming a player in the oil marketplace after Exxon’s announcement that it had found encouraging signs of significant offshore reserves in waters also claimed by Venezuela.
Exxon said it had found the oil deposit in the Stabroek Block, some 120 nautical miles offshore Guyana. But it will take months to ascertain the size and commercial potential of this discovery,
The company says it encountered more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs in the drilling site.
This would be the first significant oil discovery following decades of exploration within the territory of Guyana, which is a largely undeveloped country of about 800,000 people.
One potential snag is that neighbouring Venezuela has long claimed about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory as well as the offshore area where Exxon Mobil began drilling in March.
