United Oil and Gas Plc, which holds the right to search for oil offshore Jamaica, gave notice to investors that it would announce a preferred drilling partner in weeks.
The UK-based explorer requires a partner to split the risk for drilling offshore, which it estimates at US$30 million.
United Oil holds oil and gas assets in Egypt, United Kingdom and a high-impact exploration licence in Jamaica. Its net worth, at US$27.7 million, is less than the cost to drill a test well, but its team of professionals are betting on the island.
“The farm-out campaign remains a key focus for United, as we seek to take this potentially transformational project forward into the next phase of the Licence. In order to do so, a commitment to drill a well will need to be made by end January 2024.
We have continued to engage with potential partners to participate alongside us in drilling this exploration well, and earlier in the year, a deadline for indicative offers had been set for the end of H1. We are encouraged by the number and quality of companies that are in the process of completing their evaluations, and as they have requested additional time, we have agreed to extend the deadline. Additional updates will be provided in due course.”
January 2024 is fast approaching. What constitutes a commitment to drill? How soon must a well be spudded?
Could Jamaica extend the deadline? Should they?
United Oil and Gas is “encouraged by the number and quality of companies that are in the process of completing their evaluations.” We’ll soon find out how serious that interest is.
For those following the Barbados Offshore Licensing Round, no updates have been posted by the Ministry of Energy and Business; nor has the BOE team received any feedback on our comprehensive bid 😉
Gaffney, Cline & Associates have audited the drill-ready target prospect with mean resources of 400 MMbbls
Standalone success on hitting the mean target is expected to achieve NPV10 of $2.5 billion at $60 oil
The test well cost is estimated to be $30 million and provides exposure to own a material interest in the entire license
The initial target is a carbonate platform and shows strong evidence of reservoir trap and intact seal, Cretaceous kitchen source and live oil seeps
Recent advanced seismic relative dispersion technical work provides further evidence of reservoir porosity and permeability, the presence of a seal, and additional reservoir potential
The License, formerly owned by Tullow, is well-supported by the Jamaican government with attractive fiscal terms
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 