The Bahamas
Summary Information
| Location | Offshore, Southern Territorial Waters, The Bahamas |
| Ownership | 100% |
| Stage | Exploration drilling |
| Asset Type | License |
| Tenure | Force Majeure extension due to Covid-19 sees 2nd Exploration Period extended to end June 2021. Renewal into 3rd Exploration Period subject to 50% relinquishment of licence area |
| Drilling Results | Perseverance #1 drilled in February 2021 drilled the ‘B’ structure (75 kms by 5-10 kms, 423 km2 total closure) targeting stacked carbonate reservoirs throughout the Aptian sections. The well encountered hydrocarbons, but not in commercial quantities; but technically validated trap, seal & reservoir models at both the play and prospect scales. |
| Fiscal Regime | Royalty; no corporate tax or CGT. 30 year production right |
Drilling of the Perseverance-1 well in The Bahamas commenced on 20 December 2020 and was completed in February 2021. The well was drilled offshore at a location approximately 20 miles from the Bahamas-Cuba maritime border, in water depth of approximately 518 meters. The well was drilled safely and without incident, despite the adverse and ever-changing impacts of the global pandemic, with stringent (and costly) COVID-19 management protocols operating effectively throughout the drilling campaign, and the attempts (ultimately unsuccessful) by environmental activists to derail the Company’s Government-approved operations. The successful completion of Perseverance-1 well represented the first exploration drilling in The Bahamas since the mid-1980s, and the first test of any prospect located in deeper waters off the shallower water carbonate banks. The well reached a depth of 3,905 meters, having intersected five Albian, Upper Aptian, and Mid-Aptian geological horizons of interest. Following completion of drilling operations, the well was plugged and secured in accordance with international and BSEE (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement) standards. The well did not result in a discovery at the drilling location, with the source quality and migration interpreted as being the primary reason for this well outcome. However, post-well petrophysical analysis of the well logs confirmed high quality reservoirs down to the base of the well, with no significant deterioration in porosity with depth, indicating the potential for high deliverability reservoirs in the deeper underlying Jurassic formations. The technical findings from Perseverance-1 well thus support a forward programme focused on deeper Jurassic horizons.
As such, the Company has initiated a farm-out process to seek a suitable partner for the next phase of activity in The Bahamas. In parallel, in March 2021 the Company notified the then Government of The Bahamas of its intent to renew the four southern licenses into a third 3-year exploration period. A new Government was elected in The Bahamas in September 2021, and the Company is engaging with the new administration on the renewal process.
