Attention On Guyana And Suriname Following Tullow Oil Find In French Guiana

By Robert Sullivan - Exclusive to Oil Investing News

Following a discovery of crude oil by Tullow Oil in September off the coast of French Guiana, attention has turned to neighboring Suriname and Guyana, where explorers are hoping to turn up similar finds.

Tullow Oil (LSE:TLW), who discovered the massive Jubilee field off of Ghana in 2007, was drilling off the coast of French Guiana in order to test the 'Atlantic Mirror' theory, which sought to determine whether the Jubilee play extended across the Atlantic.

The operator of French Guiana's lone offshore block with a 27.5 percent stake in the project, Tullow's Exploration Director Angus McCoss revealed on September 9 that the field could hold 700 million barrels in gross reserves. Tullow's joint venture partners include Royal Dutch Shell (LSE:RDSA), Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT), and Northern Petroleum (LSE:NOP).

Now, after Tullow's success, attention has shifted westwards to Suriname and Guyana. The two countries also lie directly to the East of Venezuela, which earlier this year announced proven crude reserves of 296.5 billion barrels, making the country the world's largest oil-reserves holder.

Potential of the Guyana-Suriname basin

In its World Petroleum Assessment 2000, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the Guyana-Suriname basin could hold close to 15.2 billion barrels of oil.

But despite the massive potential of the basin, little exploration has been carried out, with Guyana and Suriname having been locked in a maritime border dispute that was only resolved after a UN arbitration ruling in 2007.

The clearly defined boundaries have since paved the way for offshore exploration in both countries, with roughly two-thirds of the basin lying in waters awarded to Guyana.