Guyana is set to see two separate offshore seismic surveys move forward this year, as oil companies and the State advance efforts to deepen the geological understanding of the country’s offshore basin and support future exploration activity.
Seismic surveys utilise sound waves to create detailed images of the rock layers beneath the seabed, enabling companies to identify potential oil and gas traps before committing to expensive drilling. By reducing geological uncertainty, the surveys help operators decide where to drill, where not to drill, and how to design exploration programmes more efficiently.
A consortium led by TotalEnergies is pursuing a survey, which plans to acquire new 3D seismic data over its recently awarded Block S4. The operator-driven programme is intended to assess the prospectivity of the shallow water block and mature targets for potential drilling during the first phase of the exploration period.
According to documents published by Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency, the Block S4 survey will cover about 2,000 square kilometres in waters 20–30 metres deep, roughly 40 km offshore. The project is expected to cost about US$25 million and is tentatively scheduled for the August–October 2026 window, subject to vessel availability. Seismic data processing is expected to take around 12 months.
Block S4 was awarded under Guyana’s 2023 offshore licensing round, with the production sharing contract executed in November 2025. TotalEnergies operates the block with a 40% stake, alongside QatarEnergy and Petronas. The seismic work forms part of the initial three-year exploration phase, after which the operator must relinquish half of the acreage.
Separately, the Guyana Government is backing a much larger, multi-client 3D seismic programme aimed at preparing deepwater acreage for a future offshore licensing round. That survey, proposed by Latitude Energy Inc., targets Blocks D1, D2 and D3 in the northeastern offshore area.
The government-sanctioned survey is designed to generate high-quality subsurface data over deepwater blocks that were left unawarded or unresolved in Guyana’s first auction. The programme is expected to cover more than 11,000 square kilometres, with an estimated capital investment of about US$81 million, and would support the remarketing of the acreage ahead of a planned second licensing round.
While distinct in purpose, both surveys are expected to contribute to a broader understanding of Guyana’s offshore basin, which has so far seen all commercial oil production concentrated in the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block.