The speculative interest in Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO, CVE:EOG) has been piqued by news of yet another new Exxon discovery in the waters offshore Guyana.
Exxon’s new Pacora-1 well, which is the latest to strike black-gold, is the closest of the US oil major’s discoveries to Eco’s Orinduik block.
READ: Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas financially strong as it looks forward to exploring Guyana and Namibia prospects
Reacting to the news, Pareto analyst Shahin Amini said the latest Exxon discovery will increase industry’s interest in the adjacent acreage and the news will support momentum to Eco’s share price.
Exxon has now unearthed seven discoveries and, not including Pacora, the company estimates that it has found more than 3bn barrels of recoverable resources at Stabroek.
Amini said: “Stabroek block has emerged as a world-class asset with a string of discoveries that support the exploration case for the adjacent blocks including Eco’s Orinduik block, which lies up-dip of the existing discoveries.”
The analyst described the recent Eco farm-out to Total as “another strong endorsement” of Orinduik and the prospectivity of the acreage.
“We are optimistic that Total will exercise its option during the second quarter of 2018,” Amini added.
WATCH: Exciting time for Eco (Atlantic) as it passes on first seismic data to Total
“In our opinion, Eco Atlantic has a substantial exploration portfolio in two very attractive basins (offshore Guyana and Namibia) as demonstrated by interest from the majors including Total and ExxonMobil.
“We are attracted to the company for its funded exploration programme, substantial exploration upside potential, exposure to near-term catalysts including those by third-parties and an entrepreneurial management team that has led the way in these frontier basins.”
He added: “We consider the company as an attractive investment on a risk-adjusted basis, and a strong addition to a balanced portfolio.”