The Transocean "Sovereign Explorer" S/S has spudded the first of two wells planned by Repsol-YPF on Block 30 in the Guyana/Suriname Basin. The Western Tier (Tapir West) well is being drilled in 100m of water to a proposed total depth of 4,050m, targeting a 70-to-170 MMboe prospect on one of a series of slope and channel canyons on the shelf edge.

The rig is under a US$ 100 million contract to drill the two wells. Repsol has identified four leads on Block 30: Manatee on Oligo/Eocene slope and basin floor fans; Caiman on Albian/Aptian tilted fault blocks; Tapir (East and West) on an Oligo/Eocene canyon head; and Red Ibis, an Aptian Carbonate build up. AVO anomalies are reportedly present in the West Tapir prospect, supporting the possible presence of a porous sandstone reservoir, hydrocarbon charge and an effective seal/trap. Manatee will be drilled in the deeper part of the block at a cost double that for West Tapir and Tapir.

A structural Maastric-Turonian play type has also been identified on acreage, which is held by Noble 60% and Repsol/YPF 40%. Elf drilled a 5,408m well on Block 30 in 1975. The last drilling offshore Suriname was several near-shore wells by Austra Tex Oil in the mid-1980s.

This article is extracted from International Oil Letter, Vol 24 issue 18, published 5 May 2008.

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