Energy Minister Daryl Vaz is cautioning that despite news from United Oil & Gas Plc that there is likely oil offshore Jamaica’s waters, Jamaicans should not get overly excited until this is conclusively proven to be the case.

“While I welcome the positive news coming out of the exploration results, I’m cautiously optimistic going forward because that was just to see if there was traces of oil and gas,” said Vaz in a voice note on Thursday.

He added that, “We will not know definitively until such time as we drill a well which will require the company, United Oil and Gas, to raise between US$60 million and US$70 million through partnerships with big oil companies. The results of that will be the most telling and conclusive”.

“Positive news but I urge Jamaicans to be cautious and not get their expectations up as yet,” Vaz cautioned further.

In an update on Wednesday, United Oil & Gas Plc reported that it has identified potential thermogenic hydrocarbons in piston core samples from its Walton-Morant Licence offshore Jamaica, representing “an established body of evidence for an active petroleum system in Jamaica”.

The update follows analysis of piston core samples from the company’s recently completed Seabed Geochemical Exploration (SGE) survey over the Walton-Morant Licence offshore Jamaica

The information was also provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange, which is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a primary information provider in the United Kingdom.

United Oil and Gas Plc is the company with a high-impact exploration asset in Jamaica and a development asset in the UK.

According to the statement, the company has undertaken a geochemical analysis on the 42 piston cores acquired across the Walton-Morant Licence.

“The analysis has identified C4 and C5 hydrocarbons, including butanes and pentanes, in select piston cores within the headspace gas dataset,” United Oil & Gas said.

It noted that these higher order hydrocarbons are not typically associated with biogenic gas systems and are therefore consistent with a potential thermogenic contribution.

“There is an established body of evidence for an active petroleum system in Jamaica in general, and, on the licence in particular, including repeat satellite slick anomalies, thermogenic hydrocarbon geochemistry from existing onshore and offshore wells, onshore and offshore oil seeps, and onshore surface outcrops,” United pointed out.

“Furthermore, petroleum systems modelling suggests the presence of oil-mature source rocks,” it added.

The company explained, too, that, the 2026 SGE survey is the first on the licence to be optimally positioned using 3D seismic, multibeam echosounder (MBES) seabed mapping, and satellite-derived slick anomaly data.

“Taken together, the data are interpreted as consistent with an active petroleum system offshore Jamaica,” United declared boldly.

The data will be integrated into United’s geological understanding and risking models, as well as to support ongoing technical evaluation and farm-out discussions.