In Guyana, Hess holds a 30% interest in the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek Block. The company is expected to relinquish 20% of this block, excluding areas designated for exploration and production, as well as a portion affected by force majeure due to a territorial dispute with Venezuela. This relinquishment is awaiting approval, according to the report.
By 2027, the exploration agreement for the Stabroek Block will conclude, necessitating the return of the block to the State, except for areas designated for discoveries and development. ExxonMobil, the operator, is currently focused on unlocking the block’s resources and planning additional projects. With 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent already discovered and eight projects in the pipeline, Hess believes there is potential for up to 10 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels to operate concurrently.
In Suriname, Hess has a 33% interest in Block 42 and a 100% operating interest in Block 59.
Block 42 was previously operated by Kosmos Energy, which drilled the Pontoenoe-1 well in 2018 but found no hydrocarbons before transferring its interest and operatorship to Shell in 2020.
In 2023, Shell drilled the Zanderij well in Block 42. Greg Hill, Hess’s Chief Operating Officer, mentioned during a 2023 earnings call that “the well demonstrated a working petroleum system and encountered oil pay.”
This discovery was not widely reported, and Hill did not disclose the size of the find, only indicating that the well results are under evaluation and that further exploration is being contemplated.
Block 42 has been active since 2011, as noted by Staatsolie.
Conversely, Block 59, which became effective in 2018, has no completed exploration wells listed by Staatsolie.
SOURCE; Oil Now (Guyana)