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United Oil & Gas Plc has taken a significant step toward realizing its exploration ambitions off Jamaica’s southern coast by commissioning a comprehensive study of offshore drilling capabilities and market conditions. The London-listed firm engaged UK-based NRG Well Management to assess rig suitability, availability, day rates, and procurement timelines for a potential drilling campaign on its Walton-Morant licence, according to Jamaica Gleaner.
The study focuses on two primary prospects: Colibri, situated in approximately 750 metres of water with estimated gross unrisked resources of 406 million barrels, and Thunderball, positioned at roughly 1,900 metres depth with 603 million barrels. Together, these targets represent more than one billion barrels of the roughly 7 billion barrels of prospective resources identified across the entire 22,400-square-kilometre block.
Donal Meehan, the company’s newly promoted chief operating officer, emphasized that the drilling study represents a critical phase in operational planning. The assessment will provide current market-based data on rig suitability and commercial conditions, along with information on long-lead equipment and procurement schedules necessary for exploration. NRG will directly contact international rig contractors and supply-chain vendors to gather this intelligence.
The company stressed that commissioning the study does not constitute a commitment to drill. Any exploration well would require regulatory approvals from Jamaica and finalized commercial agreements. United holds 100 per cent of the Walton-Morant licence and has consistently stated that a partner is essential before drilling can proceed. In a farm-out arrangement, a licence holder relinquishes partial ownership in exchange for another company funding operations.
United reported in June that it was targeting a farm-out agreement by year’s end, with multiple parties engaged under confidentiality agreements. The company closed 2025 with US$1.7 million in cash—substantially less than the cost of a deepwater exploration well. Meehan’s recent promotion to COO signals the company’s intensified focus on advancing the farm-out, ensuring operational readiness, and moving the licence forward. The rig study is expected to conclude within weeks and will inform partnership negotiations.
United Oil & Gas holds exploration rights to the Walton-Morant licence, a 22,400-square-kilometre block off southern Jamaica. The company has not yet drilled any wells on the licence. According to Jamaica Gleaner, roughly 11 exploration wells have been drilled in Jamaica since the 1850s, with only two offshore, and none have tested the prospects currently being marketed. A seabed survey completed earlier in 2026 detected butane and pentane hydrocarbons in core samples, and an independent risking study improved the estimated success probability for Colibri from one-in-five to one-in-three.
This exploration initiative directly affects Jamaica’s energy security and economic development. Successful oil discovery and production could generate significant revenue, employment, and government royalties for Jamaica. The farm-out process and eventual drilling operations would involve regulatory engagement with Jamaican authorities and potential local supply-chain participation.
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