CGG GeoConsulting makes oil seeps discovery in Jamaica

CGG GeoConsulting, together with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), has discovered two independent live onshore oil seeps in different parts of Jamaica.

According to CGG, the discovery represents the first documented occurrence of ‘live’, or flowing, oil from onshore Jamaica.

Furthermore, the discovery is expected to encourage oil explorationists focused on Central America and the Caribbean.

The development is a result of a recently completed multi-client Robertson Study (Red Book), which was carried out jointly CGG and PCJ to evaluate the petroleum potential of onshore and offshore Jamaica.

CGG Geology, Geophysics and Reservoir senior executive vice president Sophie Zurquiyah said: “This exciting discovery of live oil onshore Jamaica, based on our joint study with PCJ, builds a strong case for the island as an attractive region for future oil exploration within the Caribbean.

“The insights and promising outcome of the study demonstrate the value that CGG’s broad geoscience expertise combined with the integration of field geology, laboratory analyses and seismic interpretation can bring for high-grading frontier regions for future oil exploration.”

Following the fieldwork, the firms conducted detailed geochemical analyses, which determined that the oil seeps originate from two separate Cretaceous source rocks.

The study, which gives information about the petroleum geology of the frontier region of the Caribbean, comprises more than 1,300 new geochemical, biostratigraphic and sedimentological analyses.

The analyses are related to more than 800 individual outcrop, well, corehole and seep samples collected from Jamaica.