Northern Petroleum appears to have given up for the time being on further exploration wells offshore French Guiana after initial excitement generated by the 2011 Zaedyus discovery well.

Reviewing results from subsequent follow-up wells operated by Shell, Northern Petroleum said it is still deciding how to take forward further exploration in the Guyane Maritime permit area.

The original Zaedyus-1 (GM-ES1) discovery well drilled in 2011 encountered 72 m (236 ft) of oil pay.

After that find, an extensive 3-D seismic acquisition program was carried out over the permit area covering the deepwater margin, and four follow-up exploration wells were drilled. “The 3-D seismic has demonstrated that numerous deepwater fan systems exist with the potential for stratigraphic traps similar to Zaedyus,” Northern noted.

But the four subsequent exploration wells failed to make a material discovery. “The follow-on four well exploration program targeted three locations within the Cingulata fan and one on a separate fan system, Cebus, located on the first of two 3-D seismic surveys acquired in 2012. These wells all encountered reservoir sequences, some with oil shows, but resulted in no commercial discovery.”

Northern Petroleum is currently considering the way forward: “Shell and its joint venture partners have integrated the data from the five wells with the newly processed 3-D seismic. This data has been interpreted and mapped, resulting in the identification of a portfolio of prospects and leads in the Central Slope area of the Guyane Maritime permit. Northern Petroleum will decide on how best to proceed with its involvement in the acreage once the seismic interpretation is completed by the operator,” the company stated.