London-listed United Oil & Gas is proceeding with a delayed offshore data acquisition program on its Walton Morant exploration licence offshore Jamaica. The operation aims to gather critical information to de-risk the frontier acreage and support a successful farm-out process.

Operational Details and Objectives

The company's contractor, TDI-Brooks International, is preparing to mobilise the Gyre research vessel from Trinidad & Tobago to Jamaican waters. The vessel will conduct a two-to-three-week program involving the collection of 40 to 60 seabed sediment cores via piston coring. This core sampling is designed to directly confirm the presence of hydrocarbons at the seabed. The program will also include a surface geochemical survey, multibeam echo sounder mapping, and heat-flow measurements. The primary goal is to confirm the presence of thermogenic hydrocarbons, thereby further de-risking the Walter and Morant basins covered by the licence.

Licence Potential and Context

The Walton Morant licence covers 22,400 square kilometres south of Jamaica, with water depths ranging from 50 to 2000 metres. Based on mapped prospects like Colibri and Oriole from 3D seismic data and leads from 2D seismic, United estimates the acreage holds a potential 7 billion barrels of unrisked mean oil resources. The licence, previously operated by Tullow Oil, is valid until January 2028. The current geotechnical studies were approved by Jamaican authorities in June of the previous year.