United Oil & Gas Plc has confirmed the presence of oil indicators on the seabed floor offshore Jamaica following a recent survey.

“We have identified butane and pentane hydrocarbons in the analysis. These results enhance our understanding of the licence and provide an important input as we advance towards a drilling decision,” said Brian Larkin, CEO of United Oil & Gas. “We believe United’s technical evaluation of the licence’s potential will support our ongoing farm-out process as we work to advance this world-class licence, which contains approximately seven billion of prospective resources.”

The company holds the Walton-Morant Licence – a roughly 22,000-square-kilometre exploration zone running along Jamaica’s southern coast – and recently concluded the analysis of 42 piston cores acquired during its 2026 Seabed Geochemical Exploration survey. The identified hydrocarbons include butanes and pentanes, classified as C4 and C5 hydrocarbons, which are not typically associated with biogenic gas systems.

Their presence, the company said, is “consistent with a potential thermogenic contribution” – meaning the hydrocarbons likely originated from heat-processed organic matter buried deep in the earth, the same process that generates commercial oil and gas deposits.

The result adds a fresh data point to an already suggestive body of evidence. United previously noted that the licence area has recorded repeated slick anomalies. It also conducted 2D and 3D modelling of the area. The 2026 survey collected samples from the ocean and seabed floor for lab testing.

Jamaica’s offshore geology has drawn comparisons to the prolific Guyana-Suriname basin, where ExxonMobil and partners have made a string of major discoveries. However, the dark, oil-like substances observed in Jamaican waters were untested, and scientists have cautioned they could prove to be non-commercial sludge rather than recoverable crude — underscoring the importance of the current survey work.

business@gleanerjm.com

@Slipfeeler

Good news!

@Slipfeeler

Slippy...

Jamaica's search for oil has always felt like a tease: decades of promising signs but no full breakthrough. Oil has remained elusive for over 60 years.

Geologists sometimes refer to this phenomenon as "geological teasing": the island consistently unveils clues indicating the presence of a significant resource beneath its waters, yet the actual prize has always eluded capture. 

Unlike places like the Gulf of Mexico, where oil flows daily, Jamaica’s track record is built on hints​, gas seeps, waxy residues, and traces of what’s known as “dead oil,” all pointing to a much larger system below the seafloor. Most of this evidence focuses on the Walton-Morant Basin. 

For years, seismic surveys showed strange blurred patches​, signals that didn’t quite match solid rock. In April 2026, a seabed survey conducted by United Oil & Gas provided crucial insights. 

By driving core samples into the ocean floor and pulling up sediment, researchers found hydrocarbons formed deep within the Earth under intense heat and pressure. These gases weren't shallow and plant-based; they originated from deep within the Earth, indicating that oil and gas are actively migrating upward through the crust.

Some of the signs are even visible from space. Satellite images have picked up recurring oil slicks above an area known as the Colibri prospect. These aren’t spills from ships or rigs; they’re natural leaks, where hydrocarbons slip through cracks and reach the ocean’s surface. 

Closer to shore, places like Blower Rock show similar activity, with oil visibly seeping into the water. For explorers, these leaks are the clearest signal yet: something underground is generating and releasing hydrocarbons right now.

Past drilling efforts add to the picture. Out of 11 wells drilled over the years, many encountered what the industry calls “oil shows," traces like asphalt staining or thick, degraded oil trapped in rock. 

This “dead oil” isn’t commercially useful anymore, but it is relevant for one key reason: it proves that oil once flowed through those layers.

One of the greatest obstacles has been geology itself. 

Jamaica is covered by a thick cap of limestone, sometimes called a carbonate shield, which has long made it difficult to see what lies beneath using older imaging methods. But newer 3D seismic technology has started to cut through that barrier, revealing large, deeper structures formed during the Cretaceous period. These formations could act as traps where oil accumulates, and early estimates suggest they might hold billions of barrels.

Taken together, the evidence forms a kind of patchwork of chemical traces, seismic signals, and physical samples​, all pointing to an active petroleum system. 

In simple terms, Jamaica has plenty of “smoke”: gas seeps, oil traces, and hydrocarbon-rich sediments. What it hasn’t yet found is the "fire," a well that produces oil in commercial quantities. The hope is that, this time, the clues finally lead to a reservoir that can actually flow. The cost of a drilling rig is approx. 400,000 US dollars per day.

Sarge

@sgtdjones

According to Darryl Vaz, Jamaica’s Minister of Energy, we are proceeding with “cautious optimism”, that after the drilling process all the exploratory expectations will be realized.

@VIX

KINGSTON, Jamaica — United Oil & Gas Plc has identified potential thermogenic hydrocarbons in piston core samples from its Walton-Morant Licence offshore Jamaica, representing “an established body of evidence for an active petroleum system in Jamaica”.

The development was announced by the company in a statement on Wednesday to update on the analysis of piston core samples from its recently completed Seabed Geochemical Exploration (SGE) survey over the 

Jamaica and the broader Caribbean will continue generating strong profits for French energy distributor Rubis in 2026, company executives said, dismissing concerns that the Middle East conflict will disrupt oil supplies to the region.

The Paris-listed energy giant, reporting full-year 2025 results, said the Caribbean – its largest single profit centre – remained insulated from geopolitical turbulence, with management singling out Jamaica, Guyana, and Barbados as key drivers of growth in the year ahead.

“Despite the current conflicts in the Middle East, which in fact remains contained at this stage, for 2026 we anticipate that the Caribbean will continue to perform well, in particular with the recovery of Haiti, the strong dynamism of Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados,” said Clarisse Gobin-Swiecznik, managing partner, on a call with analysts on Thursday.

The company posted net income of €309 million (US$358 million) for 2025, up 19 per cent year-on-year, excluding a one-time capital gain from the prior year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at €741 million, at the upper end of its guidance range, with the Caribbean contributing €231 million, equivalent to 56 per cent of group-wide operations by EBITDA weight. Other regions, such as Africa, contributed €188 million, and Europe, €112 million.

Rubis operates across 14 Caribbean countries and is listed on Euronext Paris.

Iran has restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow waterway controlling roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies. It grants safe passage to vessels from allied nations. The move cuts off supplies to many Western nations and briefly drove crude prices above US$100 a barrel. The restrictions follow escalating US and Israeli military pressure on Iran. 

“So far, so good. We don’t see any negative impact so far in our businesses,” said Jean-Christian Bergeron, CEO of Rubis Energy, on the specific question of Middle East supply disruptions, at the investor briefing.

Source: Jamaica-gleaner.com

@Slippy

United Oil & Gas Plc’s recent findings are encouraging, but they don’t amount to proof that there’s commercially viable oil just yet. In this industry, nothing is considered truly “proven” until a well is drilled and tested to show that hydrocarbons can actually be produced in profitable quantities.

What they’ve found does matter, though. The detection of heavier hydrocarbons like butanes and pentanes points to a thermogenic origin, meaning they were formed under intense heat and pressure deep underground, rather than by shallow biological processes. That’s a strong indicator of an active petroleum system. In simple terms, it suggests oil and gas are being generated below the surface and are moving through the rock layers offshore Jamaica.

Because of these findings, the Geological Chance of Success (GCOS) for the Colibri prospect has risen to over 30%, which is a meaningful bump in confidence. However, seepage alone only provides a partial understanding of the situation. It confirms that hydrocarbons exist, but not whether they’ve collected in a large, well-defined reservoir that could justify the enormous cost of extraction. Without drilling, there’s no way to know whether the resource is high-quality crude or something far less valuable.

Currently, United Oil & Gas is using these results to attract a larger partner, typically a major player like ExxonMobil or Shell, to help finance the next step: drilling an exploratory well. That’s the stage where real answers emerge.

In many ways, Jamaica is where Guyana was in the early 2000s; early signs are lining up, and the system appears to work, but the decisive moment will come with the first major drill.

Sarge

@sgtdjones

Concurring with you Prof. I guess many Jamaicans are now just cautiously optimistic and hopeful that we will not fall into the inevitable multinational pitfalls, like our T&T and Guyanese brothers and sister but there might no avoidance of their influence in the industry.