ExxonMobil evaluating find off Guyana

OREANDA-NEWS. ExxonMobil is evaluating the results of an exploration well offshore Guyana to determine if a discovery there is commercial.

"The exploration well drilled at the Liza-1 location on the Stabroek Block, located approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana, encountered hydrocarbons. It is too early to confirm whether there are commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. Full evaluation of the results is underway," the US major said today.

ExxonMobil operates the block with a 75pc stake. Shell has the remaining 25pc.

The news is likely to spark a reaction from the government of neighboring Venezuela, which claims sovereignty over a wide swath of Guyanese territory that includes Stabroek.

The Venezuelan foreign ministry has sent two recent letters to ExxonMobil?s Guyana unit demanding that the firm cease drilling in the contested waters. The ministry had no immediate comment on today's development.

ExxonMobil said the Stabroek operations are ongoing and it is too early to indicate whether further work will be carried out.