Jamaica, a Caribbean island nation, is set to try and uncover potential oil reserves hidden beneath the seabed off the southern coast of the country.
The country, which imports oil in order to fulfil its energy needs, hopes to discover its own reserves in order to make a step towards energy independence.
According to info found on Jamaican government’s website, Tullow Oil, an exploration and production company is set to kick off a 2D seismic survey this month over a block it acquired in 2014.
In November 2014, Tullow obtained interest in offshore Jamaica after signing a new Production Sharing Agreement for a large prospective acreage position which includes ten full blocks and one part block in shallow water to the south of the island.
There have been oil or gas shows in 10 of the 11 onshore and offshore wells drilled in Jamaica to date, however, Jamaica has yet to produce a single barrel of oil.
According to the government, Tullow will now begin its 3,000-kilometers survey in order to determine the block’s potential for commercial oil and gas.
The company, which operates the 32,065 square kilometers Walton Morant area will be using the BGP Challenger seismic vessel, owned by the Chinese seismic contractor BGP.
The survey is expected to take a month to complete, after which, based on the results of the 2d survey, a decision will be made whether to move ahead to the next phase, a 3D seismic survey. As these are the earliest stages of exploration works, no timeline has been given on a potential drilling date.
Offshore Energy Today Staff
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