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CGX
Energy Inc. is a Canadian-based oil and gas company focused on exploring
for oil in the Guyana-Suriname basin. Our Licences in Guyana cover
9.5 million gross acres, 7.2 million net.
In
1996, the founders of CGX began negotiations with the Government
of Guyana to acquire an offshore concession to explore for oil.
CGX and others view the Guyana-Suriname Basin as attractive for
high-risk exploration for hydrocarbons. The United States Geological
Survey (USGS) has identified the Guyana-Suriname Basin as having
the second highest resource potential after Greenland among unexplored
oil basins in the world. The USGS estimates mean recoverable oil
reserves of 15.2 billion bbls and gas reserves of 42 trillion cubic
ft.
In June
1998, CGX Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CGX, was
granted the 10-year Corentyne Licence by the Government
of Guyana.
The
following May, we conducted a seismic program over the offshore
portion of the
concession, identifying 2 turbidite deep-sea fan targets, Eagle
and Wishbone, and two stratigraphic-trap targets, Horseshoe West
and East.
In June 2000, while setting up to drill on Eagle, the rig CGX
had contracted was forced off location by Surinamese gunboats,
even
though Guyana
and Suriname are full signatories to the Law of the Sea Convention.
Because CGX had already incurred the financial cost of mobilizing
drilling equipment from Italy, we drilled our third-ranked target,
Horseshoe West,
a stratigraphic-trap play that was abandoned as a dry hole. After drilling Horseshoe, we relinquished
1 million acres with reduced exploration potential and added the
1-million acre Annex extension to the Corentyne Licence in January
2001. CGX Energy received an extension for its Corentyne License to June 2013.
Negotiations
to resolve the maritime border dispute between the two countries were ongoing and on February 25, 2004, the Government of Guyana formally commenced binding dispute settlement procedures under the United National Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On September 20, 2007, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) announced the award in favour of Guyana -- see Maritime Border Resolution
In
addition, CGX has a 25% working interest in the offshore Georgetown
Licence located between the original Corentyne Block and The Annex. This
area is subject to a confidentiality agreement with the operator,
Repsol-YPF.
In
2004, CGX finalized its purchase of the Pomeroon Block, a 2.8
million acre 100% interest block to the northwest.
Research
into onshore activities in Suriname and advancements in technology
piqued our interest in exploring the onshore portion of our Corentyne
Licence. On September 10, 2003, ON Energy Inc. was incorporated
in Guyana, as a wholly owned subsidiary of CGX Energy Inc. ON's
principal asset is the Licence rights to the 800,000-acre onshore
and near shore portion, the Berbice Block. |