SBM continues its relationship with ExxonMobil through the signing of a new MOU.

SBM Offshore has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ExxonMobil Guyana for construction of a multi-purpose floater hull for use on a future floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) project.

ExxonMobil and SBM Offshore have a long history of working together, with multiple FPSO projects underway.

Exxon has previously indicated that at least six FPSOs will be in service by 2027. They have also signaled that the resource base in Guyana has the potential to support up to 10 FPSOs.

Hess Corporation and the Government of Guyana announced an agreement for Hess to purchase high quality carbon credits for a minimum of $750 million between 2022 and 2032 directly from the Government of Guyana.  

Carbon credits are mechanisms used to reduce CO2 emissions. Carbon credits are generated by the avoidance of CO2 emissions. Guyana’s extensive natural rainforests provide an avenue to remove substantial quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. 

This agreement will serve to support Guyana’s efforts to protect the country’s vast forests and provide capital to improve the lives of Guyana’s citizens through investments made by the Government as part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.  

If you would like to learn more about Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy click here:
https://lcds.gov.gy/ 

Guyana’s President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali stated, “In 2009, Guyana produced the first low carbon development strategy from a developing country. As one of only nine national jurisdictions in the Amazon Basin, we said long ago that national or jurisdiction-scale action on forests, coupled with access to global private finance, could create solutions that benefit the peoples of forest-rich countries while also achieving global climate goals.” 

President Ali was joined by Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and John Hess, CEO of Hess Corporation for a signing ceremony to commemorate this historic agreement. 

The multi-year agreement is for 37.5 million REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits (current and future issuances). These credits will be on the ART (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) registry and will be independently verified to represent permanent and additional emissions reductions under ART’s REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard 2.0 (TREES). 

Avoiding global deforestation is foundational to the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C and was one of the major commitments made at the COP26 climate summit, where more than 130 countries, including Guyana, pledged to end deforestation by 2030.  

Guyana’s more than 18 million hectares of forests are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Through Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, the country has a roadmap for preserving its forests, while growing its economy and creating a development pathway that is diverse and includes opportunities for all Guyanese citizens. 

The purchase of these carbon credits is an important part of Hess’ commitment to support global efforts to address climate change and for the company to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The agreement adds to the company’s ongoing and successful emissions reduction efforts, which are described in Hess’ annual Sustainability Reports. 

If you would like to learn more about Hess’ sustainability reports, you can click here:
https://www.hess.com/sustainability/sustainability-reports 

APA Corporation has announced an oil discovery offshore Suriname at Baja-1 in Block 53. The company also provided an update on recent drilling operations at Dikkop-1 in Block 58.

Block 53

Baja-1 was drilled to a depth of 5,290 meters (17,356 feet) and encountered 34 meters (112 feet) of net oil pay in a single interval within the Campanian. Preliminary fluid and log analysis indicates light oil with a gas-oil ratio (GOR) of 1,600 to 2,200 standard cubic feet per barrel, in good quality reservoir. The discovery at Baja-1 is a down-dip lobe of the same depositional system as the Krabdagu discovery, 11.5 kilometers to the west in Block 58. Evaluation of open-hole well logs, cores and reservoir fluids is ongoing.

“Our success at Baja marks the 6th oil discovery we have participated in offshore Suriname, and the first on Block 53,” said John J. Christmann, APA CEO and president. “This result confirms our geologic model for the Campanian in the area and helps to de-risk other prospects in the southern portion of both Blocks 53 and 58.”

APA recently received regulatory approval regarding an amendment to the Block 53 Production Sharing Contract (PSC), which provides options to extend the exploration period of the PSC by up to four years. The company is currently progressing the formalization of the election of the first one-year extension, for which all work commitments are complete.

APA is operator and holds a 45% working interest in Block 53, with Petronas holding a 30% working interest and CEPSA holding a 25% working interest. Baja-1 was drilled using the Noble Gerry de Souza in water depths of approximately 1,140 meters (3,740 feet). The drillship will mobilize to Block 58 following the completion of current operations, where it will drill the Awari exploration prospect, approximately 27 kilometers (north) of the Maka Central discovery.

Block 58

APA also announced that operations have concluded on the Dikkop exploration well in Block 58. The well encountered water-bearing sandstones in the targeted interval and has been plugged and abandoned. TotalEnergies is the operator with a 50% working interest, and APA holds the remaining 50% working interest. The drillship Maersk Valiant will be moving to the Sapakara field to drill a second appraisal well at Sapakara South, where the joint venture conducted a successful flow test late last year.