Tullow Oil plans to drill three or more oil exploration wells in Guyana next year, CEO Paul McDade said on Sept. 16 after the firm’s second oil discovery in the country.

Following the Jethro-1 discovery in August, London-listed Tullow announced that it had also hit oil at the Joe-1 well in the Orinduik Block.

Tullow shares soared by over 7% by 07:54 GMT, also supported by a sharp rise in crude oil prices following a weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s production facilities.

Although the discovery was smaller than initially estimated, it offers Tullow and its partners better understanding of the block to decide on further exploration drilling and development of production, McDade told Reuters.

“It is a balance between how much new exploration we do next year to build gross volume on the blocks versus how much appraisal we do to start to move ahead with the development of the block,” he said.

“We’d be drilling around three wells or more next year, I’d be surprised if we didn't drill that many,” he said, referring both to the Orinduik and the Kanuku blocks.

The Joe-1 well met 14 m of net oil pay in high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs of Upper Tertiary age.

Tullow is the operator of the Orinduik Block with a 60% stake. France’s Total SA holds 25% and Toronto-listed Eco Atlantic holding the remaining 15%.

“Another discovery in Guyana, although [it] has come in smaller than expected and is unlikely to be developed as a standalone,” BMO Capital Markets said in a note.

Offshore