Eco Atlantic upbeat as drilling begins on 'Joe' prospect

Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas announced on Tuesday that drilling of the ‘Joe’ prospect had started offshore Guyana - its second exploration well on the Orinduik Block.

The AIM-traded firm said Joe-1 was spud at 1445 Guyana Time on 25 August, using the Stena Forth drillship, which previously drilled the recently-announced ‘Jethro’ discovery.

It said itself and its partners on the Orinduik Block - Tullow Guyana, the operator with a 60% working interest; and Total E&P Guyana, with a 25% working interest - estimated the well would take around three weeks to drill.

The company said the Joe prospect was a tertiary feature on the northern part of the Orinduik Block, in approximately 700 meters of water, and was estimated by Gustavson Associates to hold 148.3 million barrels of oil of gross unrisked prospective oil resources.

Joe was the second of Eco's two-well drill programme in Guyana for the year, with the company confirming it was fully funded for a further six potential exploration, appraisal or development wells on the Orinduik Block.

“We are very pleased to have spudded on Sunday our second exploration well on Orinduik,” said chief operating officer Colin Kinley.

“After the discovery made on Jethro in the lower tertiary, which greatly de-risked that age section throughout the block, we are now moving to an upper tertiary target in the Joe prospect where we are targeting over 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.

“If a further discovery is made, it will further enhance the value of the block with this shallower play.”

Kinley said the estimated chance of success for Joe was the same as Jethro, although it was a “completely different” play, with the board said to be confident in its 3D interpretation as it was ahead of the Jethro-1 discovery.

“We look forward to continued success in our exploration efforts as we move forward to define the plays available to us in all the various geological ages and to develop this block.”