Durrant Pate/Contributor

With the conclusion of a Seabed Geochemical Exploration (SGE) program in Jamaica’s Walton-Morant offshore oil prospect, seabed piston core samples are now enroute to America for analysis.

The piston core samples are being shipped by TDI Brooks to its laboratories in America for geochemical analysis and testing for the presence of thermally derived hydrocarbons, which possess oil for exploration. It is hoped that the results from the analysis will support United Oil & Gas’ assessment of hydrocarbon prospectivity in the offshore Walton-Morant license. 

United Oil and Gas, which holds the licence for Jamaica’s Walton-Morant offshore prospect, had contracted TDI Brooks to carry out the SGE programme. The results will undergo integration with existing datasets to support UOG’s technical studies, where a 3D perspective view highlights the high-quality Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) bathymetry data acquired in the Walton Basin.

MBES bathymetry data provides high-resolution, 3D mapping of seafloor topography by emitting multiple sound beams to create a wide swath of coverage. It is essential for detailed underwater surveying, coastal monitoring, and habitat mapping.

TDI Brooks entered into a memorandum of understanding in October 2025 with United Oil & Gas to provide its survey vessel R/V GYRE for a geotechnical and surface geochemical program offshore Jamaica.  The goal is to help de-risk the license as discussions continue with potential farm-in partners.

Project stages

• Stage 1, involving the use of a Multibeam Echosounder (MBES), led to the acquisition and processing of 1,189-line km of data.
• Under Stage 2, heat flow probe data were acquired in both the Walton and Morant basins.

• In the final Stage 3 piston core survey, 42 coring locations were identified following integration of the MBES data with existing seismic data. During coring operations, seabed sediment was recovered from all 42 selected sites.

In the meantime, United Oil & Gas CEO says the United Kingdom-based oil and gas company will continue to progress discussions with potential partners with the objective of advancing towards a potentially transformational offshore exploration drilling phase for Jamaica.