Total and Apache Corporation have discovered a new oil well offshore Suriname in South America following the first find at Maka Central-1 in the same region.
'The results are once again very encouraging and confirm our exploration strategy in this region,' Kevin McLachlan, Total's senior vice president, was quoted as saying in a statement by Total.
The well at the Sapakara West-1 on Block 58 offshore 'was drilled to a depth of approximately 6,300 meters (20,700 feet), and successfully tested for the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple stacked targets in the upper Cretaceous-aged Campanian and Santonian intervals,' Apache said in a separate statement.
'Importantly, our data indicates that the Sapakara West-1 well encountered a distinct fan system that is separate from the Maka Central-1 discovery we announced in January this year,' John J. Christmann, president of Apache, was quoted in the statement.
Apache said the third and fourth exploration well locations in Block 58 have been identified.
The Sapakara West-1 discovery came as tensions have risen in oil markets following a breakdown in talks between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia on March 6 to secure a further oil output cut in their production levels.
During the OPEC+ conference in Vienna, Austria on March 6, Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to make deeper cuts into the group's oil production levels to mitigate the adverse impact of coronavirus on weakening global oil demand.
After the conference both countries announced the following week that they would boost up their crude oil output starting from April, triggering a war for greater market share.
However, price of Brent crude oil climbed above $30 per barrel after Trump announced Thursday he spoke with Saudi and Russian leaders, and expects them to lower their oil production levels substantially.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr