GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Two more high-quality oil reservoirs have been discovered by US oil giant ExxonMobil, in Guyana’s Stabroek Block.

This was reported on Wednesday and confirms that recent drilling operations to appraise the size of a previous discovery had identified two additional high-quality reservoirs.

As a result of COVID-19 , travel restrictions in Guyana had forced ExxonMobil to temporarily idle two drillships in the country’s waters. However, the oil company had resumed drilling operations by the end of the second quarter.

“The Stena Carron rig recently completed appraisal drilling at Yellowtail-2, located one mile south-east of Yellowtail-1. The well-identified two additional high-quality reservoirs, one adjacent to, and the other below the Yellowtail Field, further demonstrating the world-class quality of this basin. This additional resource is currently being evaluated and will help form the basis for potential future development,” Hess said in its quarterly report.

In July, the Noble Don Taylor drillship began drilling off the Redtail exploration well, which is 1.25 miles north-west of the Yellowtail-1 discovery. The other two drillships, the Noble Bob Douglas and the Noble Tom Madden, are drilling and completing Liza Phase 1 and Phase 2 development wells.

Meanwhile, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has stated that despite the current circumstances due to the global pandemic, local political situation and fall in oil prices earlier this year, Guyana’s outlook remains positive due to the volume of expected oil production.

In its Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin report, the IDB noted that while the decline in oil prices have contributed to updated estimates for Guyanese oil exports, government revenues, and GDP growth, the revised figures still show a remarkable growth for the industry.