United Oil & Gas PLC has completed the first stage of a surface geochemical exploration programme on its Walton-Morant licence offshore Jamaica. Photo: Jamaica Gleaner

The London-listed explorer said its survey vessel acquired high-quality seabed data across roughly 1,189 kilometres of priority areas using a multibeam echosounder (MBES). The vessel has since returned to Kingston for equipment reconfiguration and departed again to begin stage two operations, which will measure seabed heat flow. Stage three will involve targeted piston core sampling to collect physical sediment samples from the ocean floor.

CEO Brian Larkin called the MBES completion “an important operational milestone”, adding that the bathymetry data provides “a robust foundation” for selecting heat flow and piston core locations in the subsequent stages.

The geochemical programme is designed to provide basin-scale evidence of an active oil system offshore the island.

The stakes are considerable. The Walton-Morant licence spans 22,400 square kilometres along Jamaica’s southern coast and holds over 40 leads and prospects for oil in commercial quantities. Independent estimates put the odds of a commercial find at 25 per cent, though United has said it expects the geochemical survey to raise that figure to approximately 33 per cent.

The company has long touted the basin’s scale. An independent assessment of 11 zones within the area identified a combined estimated 2.4 billion barrels of oil-like substances, while United’s own internal projections have exceeded seven billion barrels. The company’s most promising zone, the Colibri prospect offshore Westmoreland, is estimated to potentially generate as much as US$3.9 billion at an $80-per-barrel oil price.