CGX recorded the first seismic images at its onshore Berbice concessions on the Corentyne coast on Wednesday. These are the first such images transmitted on the coast of Guyana since the 1940s.
CGX is bullish on the possibility of finding oil in commercial qualities and well-placed sources report that the company expects to be able to drill exploration wells as early as September to test seismically defined anomalies.
A release from CGX's Toronto office yesterday quoted Vice President Warren Workman as saying: "The data quality was good and we're very pleased with the progress we've seen thus far. Recording is expected to continue through May, with processing and interpretation scheduled for June."
The release said CGX's preparations for the 2-D seismic survey, which is being conducted by Seis Pros Inc, a Houston, Texas company, began in late March and "to date nearly half of the 180 km (108 miles) programme has been cut and surveyed."
It said training for the portable drilling operations started in the second week of April, including sessions on health, safety and the environment for over 100 crew members, adding that "just over 10 per cent of the shot holes have been completed".
CGX moved to the 2-D seismic survey after the microbial survey that was completed in October identified more than 20 anomalous leads, one of which is approximately 40 square kilometers.
The 2-D seismic programme is being conducted to identify the depth and location of the potential reservoirs that contain hydrocarbons that are associated with most of the anomalies.
CGX moved to explore its onshore concessions through its Guyana subsidiary ON Energy, while the maritime border dispute between Guyana and Suriname was being resolved.
Guyana has since referred the dispute to the United Nations for a legally binding resolution under the arbitral process as provided for by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In June 2000, Surinamese gunboats ejected the oil rig CGX was operating from its drilling location in Guyana's exclusive economic zone.
Since then, despite meetings in Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, St Vincent and Jamaica, the last three of which were under Caricom chairmanship, the two sides have been unable to agree on arrangements that would allow the marine resources to be exploited pending a resolution of the dispute.
It was the frustration of these series of meetings that prompted Guyana's referral of the dispute to the United Nations arbitral process.